The Thin Blue Line
by JenSurname
Summary: AU. Multichapter. Cops, robbers, heroes, villains, paramedics, friends... and Vauseman. Rated T for now, but you know how these things go, it'll turn M later for sure.
1. Chapter 1

"I don't need to apologise," Alex said as she put her boot to the door of the bar, kicking it open and pushing the slightly shorter guy into the street, one hand on the collar of his shirt, the other twisting his arm up his back. "And if you don't quit being a whiny little bitch, I'll really give you something to complain about."

His body slammed into the wing of her car parked alongside the curb and he leaned forward over the hood, all of the air he would've used to respond forced out of his lungs by the impact, Alex's hands still firmly in place.

"Another bar we can no longer hang out in, Vause?"

Alex looked around in the direction of the voice and grinned at the EMT who'd just jumped down from the newly arrived Ambulance.

"You're too classy for a dive like this anyway, Diaz."

The guy still pinned to the hood of the car, who just so happened to be the owner of the dive bar, began to protest. He was quickly silenced by Alex banging his head off the hood of the car.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head, holding him in place as she clicked cold steel in place around his wrist, then dragged his other arm behind his back and secured that wrist too. As she hauled him upright by the back of his collar, she briefly looked back over her shoulder at the EMT and the paramedic who was joining her from around the back of the ambulance.

"Wife's inside, or what's left of her after this piece of shit finished with her. Washington's with her. Kitchen in the back."

Diaz muttered something under her breath, spoke a couple of quiet words to her colleague and started to head into the bar. Alex finished folding the wife-beating bar owner into the back of the car and slammed the door closed.

She turned back to the bar just as the door swung closed behind the blonde-haired paramedic, keyed her radio and called in an update, then stepped into the alley alongside the bar and shook a cigarette out of a pack.

She lit her cigarette, out of public view but maintaining line of sight to her car, and leaned back against the wall as she smoked it. This was the third time in two weeks she'd been called to this bar. She just hoped that this time Washington was able to convince the piece of shit's wife to co-operate with a prosecution. The last two times – through fear, or hope of reconciliation, or fuck knows what – she'd made it perfectly clear she wouldn't co-operate and asked the prosecutor not to bring charges. Maybe this time it'd be different. Third time lucky and all that.

* * *

Alex checked her sidearm into her locker, changed out of her uniform and into a pair of jeans and a sweater. She was shrugging into her leather jacket when Washington stepped out of the showers and rounded the row of lockers.

"Somewhere you gotta be, Vause?"

Alex shook her head. "Nah, just heading home. I have a big night of laundry and bill paying ahead of me."

"Time for a drink?" Washington asked, towelling herself dry and already knowing the answer.

Alex checked her watch. "It's four-thirty. That's too early for me."

"Aw come on! Just one. You can even make that one a coffee if you really don't want to come play with us."

"Us? You meeting Diaz?"

"Yup. Diaz and her new paramedic partner. You see her today at that job?"

"Mmmnot really. Caught the back of her, I was kinda busy wrestling with Mister Charisma. Why does she have a new partner anyway?"

Washington shrugged. "She's only had temps since Bennett left, this one's her new regular. Transferred in from Shift One, I think."

"Any good?"

Washington pulled a tank over her head and shrugged again. "Don't know. This was only their second shift so…"

"Second shift and she's introducing you to her already?"

"We come as a package, Vause, you know that," Washington grinned. "Newbie gotta know what she's letting herself in for, being crewed with my girl."

"I almost feel sorry for her, being exposed to the two of you!" Alex laughed. "But not quite sorry enough to come with you for that drink."

Alex slung her satchel across her body and grabbed her helmet, firing a quick salute off to her partner before turning to leave.

"Hasta whaddyacallit. Have a good night."

"Mañana, partner." Washington replied, smiling as her partner left for home.

* * *

It took Alex a little over fifteen minutes to drive home. Not for the first time, she was grateful for the motorcycle which enabled her to navigate the traffic with relative ease, weaving her way between the queuing cars and coasting over the George Washington Bridge as she took her usual route home.

She lived in Leonia, NJ, in a single-family home on a quiet residential street in a low crime area with neighbours who were pleasant and friendly and minded their own business. She'd bought the house four years earlier and had spent the next three years remodelling it. The only reason she could afford a house in such a nice area was by purchasing a fixer-upper and she'd spent ninety grand plus change turning it from something that had barely been touched since it was built in 1910, to the home she now loved. She'd added almost a hundred and sixty to its value too, but she wasn't in it for the profit margin. She was in it because it was home.

She killed the engine of her BMW and coasted the bike along the driveway to the garage at the rear of the house. Securing it alongside her two other bikes – yes, she had something of an obsession – she removed her helmet and unpinned her hair from the tight bun it had been in since she left for work at six-thirty that morning.

Vincent, the cat that had chosen her home as his own within weeks of her moving in, waited in his usual spot on the porch observing as she shook her hair out, then stood and stretched as he watched her approach. She bent and scratched the top of his head and he mewed his approval, then she let herself in through the rear door and Vincent padded after her before flopping dramatically in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"I shoulda called you 'Trip Hazard'," Alex said as she stepped over the cat and turned on her coffee machine.

Vincent didn't reply.

She made her way to the front door and collected the mail, dumping the junk straight in to the recycling box and sorting through the rest, hanging her satchel and jacket on the rack near the front door along the way. She pulled her cell phone from her satchel and turned it on, then moved back to the kitchen and collected her freshly brewed coffee.

Back out on the deck, sitting in her favourite chair, she sipped her coffee and checked her messages. An entire conversation had taken place in the WhatsApp group she and her friends used, something about a trip to Miami in September. She lacked the motivation to read all of it, so skipped to the end and tapped out a quick reply asking for a summary of the 323 messages that had been exchanged while her phone was off.

She had four missed calls. Three from unknown numbers and one from Nicky. No voice messages. She checked her email – junk, junk and more junk – then dialled Nicky's number, returning her call.

"Yo Vause, what time d'ya call this?" was how Nicky answered the phone.

"Just got offa work o'clock. You?"

"No seriously? I thought you were off today. I called you at like 11am. Wondered if you wanted to catch some lunch."

"Too busy catching bad guys, sorry."

"Dinner tomorrow night then?"

Alex sighed quietly and took another sip of her coffee. She couldn't remember how many hundreds of times she'd explained her six-on/four-off shift pattern to her best friend, but she knew she was going to do it at least once more.

"Can't. Working."

"Goddammit, when are you ever _not_ working?"

"Um, now? C'mon Nic, you know the drill. Two early shifts, two late shifts, two night shifts, four off."

"Right, right. So today is what?"

"Thursday. Second early."

"Okay, so…" Alex listened as Nicky murmured the following days of the week quietly. She would bet her house that she was counting on her fingers too. "So, you're off on Tuesday next week?"

"Yep. And Wednesday, Thursday and Friday."

"And tomorrow you start at…?"

"Three."

"Until midnight."

"Right."

"Fuck, it's no wonder you have no social life, Vause."

"I have a social life, just not when everybody else does."

Nicky chuckled. She had a point.

"So, when're we gonna catch up?"

"We could do brunch tomorrow or Saturday before I have to head in?"

"_Brunch_? What the fuck? Who are you and what've you done with Alex Vause?"

"Fuck you Nichols. You want food or not?"

"Eleven. Saturday. Usual place."

Alex grinned and terminated the call.

* * *

Friday late shifts weren't the worst. For most people it signified the end of their working week, but a lot of people headed home straight from work, which meant the bars weren't overly full and so alcohol fuelled crime didn't reach the peak it tended to on a Saturday, and what trouble there was usually came after midnight. Right after Alex clocked off.

She'd worked out of the 26th Precinct for the past four and a half years, having spent the first eighteen months of her career in the 88th in Brooklyn. The commute was much friendlier now and they covered a pretty decent patch – a portion of the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Riverside Park and Morningside Park were on her patch, as was Columbia University. The students kept them pretty busy at the weekends, but mainly keeping the peace. The crime figures had fallen steadily over the last few years, and Alex was happy with her lot.

She'd been partnered with Washington since transferring in from the 88th and they worked well together. They shared an easy camaraderie and Alex counted her as a friend, as well as work partner.

They were cruising south along Morningside Avenue around 5:30pm discussing where they were going to grab dinner that night when a young woman on the sidewalk started waving her arms frantically, trying to flag them down. Alex pulled the car over and Washington rolled down her window.

"Help you ma'am?"

"Oh thank _God_! Quickly, come quick! I think she's had a heart attack!"

The two cops jumped out of the car, following the woman as she quickly made her way back into the park.

"I called an Ambulance, I was waiting for them, but now you're here, so…"

As they rounded the corner of a footpath, they were greeted by the sight of one very grey looking female wearing fitness clothing lying on her back, with another similarly dressed woman kneeling beside her performing entirely ineffective CPR.

Vause and Washington exchanged a glance, then Washington keyed her radio as her partner pulled on her blue nitrile gloves and moved to the two women on the ground. The woman who was trying to deliver chest compressions almost burst into tears of relief when she saw Alex, and moved aside. Alex checked for a pulse, found none, checked then opened the airway, delivered two breaths and then took over CPR.

Washington sent the first woman back to the roadside to wait for the ambulance, then spoke quickly into her radio. "Control this is 26-David. 10-54 Charlie Uniform, Morningside Park adjacent to West 117th."

Alex counted thirty compressions, then delivered two more breaths. She looked up at the woman who was kneeling opposite her watching, clearly fighting back tears. As she began delivering the next thirty compressions, she asked "What's your name?"

The woman looked a little taken aback, then answered "Lucy. Adamson. Lucy Adamson."

"Okay Lucy. Hi. I'm Alex. Who's this young lady?"

Lucy started to cry. "Ol-ol-oliviaaaaaah."

Alex delivered another two breaths then looked back at Lucy as she commenced compressions again.

"Lucy, I need you to keep your shit together, you hear me?"

Lucy nodded, covering her mouth with the back of her hand. Her other hand was clenched in a fist, fingernails digging into the palm of her hand.

"Tell me who she is and tell me what happened. Take your time. Go."

Lucy nodded her head again, then took a steadying breath. "She's Olivia Hambleton. She's 22, like me. We go to Columbia and we met on the first day of school, in our first class. We're majoring in Journalism. She wants to do politics but I'm more into broadcast - radio or TV, or even online, I really haven't decided. There are so many options."

Alex listened, filtering out the unnecessary information and picking up what she needed. She paused and checked for a pulse again, then continued CPR.

"That's good," she said to Lucy. "Go on."

"We run three times a week after class. We always come here, the fitness paths are great and they're pretty well lit and it's close to school, so it's perfect. We don't really come here at night, though. This is about as late as we'll come, it's not so nice when it's totally dark. This is the first time we've been this week though, Liv's been feeling a little under the weather, just tired really - she didn't even want to come out for pizza on Tuesday and she _loves_ Papa Frankie's! - so we skipped a run on Monday and Tuesday, I was busy on Wednesday, and this is our first trip out."

Alex is working up a sweat now, and wipes her forehead on her shoulder as she switches from compressions to breaths. Lucy continues.

"She's really fit. Fitter than me for sure, but she was slower today than usual. We're in the middle of our third lap and we've been here an hour but usually we have three laps done in about 45 minutes. I was chatting to her as we ran, then she just slowed down and leant forward with her hands on her knees. I asked her if she was okay, and she… she shook her head no and she… and she… she just… fell."

Lucy's breaths are hitching and the tears start to fall again.

"Did you start CPR immediately?"

"Yeah, yes. I mean, I've only ever seen it on TV, but…"

"You were doing great," Alex lied. "Good job. How long had you been doing it before I got here?"

Lucy sniffs. "Uh, um, not long. Maybe two minutes? You got here so fast!"

Two more breaths. Back to compressions.

"She take any medication? Drugs? Anything?"

"N-no. Nothing illegal anyway, she doesn't even drink. I don't think she takes anything else. I mean, antihistamine for hay fever, but nothing else. I have allergies and I have this…" she pulls an EpiPen out of a pocket and shows it to Alex, "but not Liv. Nothing."

Alex looks over at her partner. "Washington! 10-57 on that Ambulance!"

"Already done, it's en route. ETA 2 minutes."

Alex continues delivering CPR, periodically checking for a pulse and finding none. A small crowd of onlookers is beginning to gather and Washington is doing her best to usher them away, or at least keep them back.

"Lucy, you've been great. Go see my partner over there, okay? See if you can keep the gawkers away and give your friend some privacy."

Lucy nods and backs away slowly. Giving her a task to do isn't really necessary, but Alex really doesn't want her to be right there watching as her friend dies.

The sweat is running down Alex's neck and beneath the collar of her shirt. Adrenaline is keeping her chest compressions fast and constant, but she's been doing this now for a little over eight minutes and she'll be grateful for the arrival of the ambulance.

"C'mon, c'mon," she murmurs, "don't you die on me, kid."

She delivers two more breaths.

"You hear me, Olivia? I'm not quitting and you can't either."

Back to compressions, counting under her breath, twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty.

Two breaths.

One-onehundred, two-onehundred, three-onehundred…

She is so focused on what she's doing that the thud of a heavy bag landing close by startles her. She looks up and breathes a sigh of relief at the sight of the paramedic kneeling opposite her.

"You took your time," she says, a little out of breath. "But boy am I glad to see you."

"Don't blame me. Diaz chose every road that was snarled with traffic."

Alex delivers another two breaths as the paramedic starts unpacking her kit, then returns to compressions again.

"Ah of course. You're the newbie, Daya's partner."

The blonde paramedic completes a quick initial assessment, moves to kneel at Olivia's head and inserts an airway. Alex continues with compressions and looks up just in time to see Diaz shouldering her way through the growing crowd of onlookers.

"Correct. Chapman. I'd say it was nice to meet you, but…"

Alex continues with compressions as Chapman unpacks more kit. Diaz joins them and mercifully takes over the chest compressions from Alex, who sits back on her heels and wipes sweat from her brow with her forearm.

Diaz looks at Alex. "What do we got?"

Alex speaks quickly and clearly, despite her breathlessness.

"Olivia Hambleton, twenty-two years old, Columbia student. No drugs, no alcohol, no meds, no illnesses. No allergies other than hay fever. Ordinarily fit and well. Runs three times a week. Three-day history of lethargy and reduced appetite. Collapsed sixty minutes into a slow run, down for…" she checks her watch, "thirteen minutes. No breathing, no cardiac output. CPR commenced eleven minutes ago, thirty to two, no breaks."

"Nice work," Chapman responds quietly, then uses scissors to cut through Olivia's tank and sports bra, before applying pads to her upper right chest and lower left torso.

Alex looks up and sees a second paramedic crew making their way towards them. She pushes herself to her feet and takes a step back.

"She's all yours, guys. Do your stuff."

More patrol officers have arrived and are helping to disperse the crowd. Washington is speaking with Lucy, subtly positioning herself so that she's unable to see her friend on the ground behind her, surrounded by paramedics who are working frantically to save her life.

Alex joins them and the three of them start to walk in the direction of the patrol car, just as Chapman's voice can be heard saying "Clear!", followed by a dull thud as the defibrillator delivers its shock.

A third ambulance pulls up and Lucy is left in the care of the crew, with kind words from both Washington and Vause about how great she's been.

The two officers head back to their patrol car, Vause calls shotgun and tosses the keys to Washington. Once inside with the windows and doors secured, Alex rests her head back against the seat and lets out a long, slow breath.

"You good?" her partner asks, handing her a bottle of water.

Alex takes a long drink from the bottle. "Better than the dead kid, yeah," she replies with a wry smile.

Washington chuckles and starts the engine. "Where to?"

"Back to base. I gotta change my shirt." Alex sits forward and pulls her sweat-soaked shirt away from her skin, demonstrating.

"No really? Do we hafta? I was kinda enjoying the view. I didn't realise there was a wet t-shirt competition happening tonight!"

Alex replies by showing her partner the middle finger. Washington moves the car out into traffic and they start the journey back to the 26th.

Alex keys her radio. "Control this is 26-David. Show us 10-61 for thirty – officer welfare, returning to 26."

They travel for the next couple of minutes in silence, Alex watching the pedestrians on the sidewalk, Washington guiding the car through the city traffic.

"You know she'd never done CPR before," Alex says, out of the blue. "Just seen it on television."

"No shit. I kinda worked that out by the whole arms thing… what was going on with her arms? Spaghetti arms."

"I know, right?"

"Spaghetti arms. What is that? Where have I heard that before? Spaghetti arms… spaghetti arms…"

"Dirty Dancing. Johnny to Baby. '_Spaghetti arms, this is _my_ dance space, this is _your_ dance space_.'"

"That's it!" Washington replies, delighted. Then, "Wait a fucking second right there. Since when do you watch Dirty Dancing?!"

Alex huffs and looks out the window again. "Fuck you. I had a youth too, you know."

"Yeah, but I didn't think they had TV back then…"

Alex is grateful for the banter and it continues all the way back to the station. The levity is a distraction and with it, a line is drawn under Olivia Hambleton.

On to the next.

* * *

Alex showers at work after her shift and changes back into her street clothes. It's twenty to one in the morning as she leaves the station and enters the compound where she left her bike.

As she approaches she sees Washington, smoking a cigarette and leaning against the bike, her ass resting against the seat.

"Hey," Alex starts, "thought you were long gone."

"Yeah, well. I was. But then I came back to see you because I was missing you so much."

Alex laughs quietly, adjusts her satchel on her back, then unlocks the security chain through the wheel.

"So what's up?"

Washington stands and moves away from Alex's bike. She takes one last draw from her cigarette before flicking the butt away.

"I'd only been gone five minutes when Daya called. She made me come back here."

"Oh?" Alex swings a leg over the bike and sits, looking across at her friend.

"The girl? Spaghetti Arms' friend?"

"Oh." Realising. Eyes downcast, watching her fingers as she puts the key in the ignition. Quietly, "Olivia. Yeah."

"She made it."

Alex looks up quickly at Washington, eyes wide. "The fuck she did!"

Washington shrugs. "Seems that way. She's in ICU, but she's stable and she's… y'know… not dead anymore."

"Wow," is all Alex can say.

"I know, right? I said to Daya, that must be some kind of miracle right there because your CPR technique is fucked up, man. Spaghetti arms and shit…"

Alex starts to laugh and Washington grins at her, before clapping her once on the back.

"Nice work, hero cop," she grins as she walks away back to her car. "G'night."

"G'night," Alex replies absently, lost in her thoughts for a moment. Then, "Hey! Poussey!"

Her partner pauses and looks back, raising her chin in a question.

"Thanks."

Washington smiles and waves, then raises a middle finger. "That's for using my first name, asshole," she replies as she turns on her heel and walks away.

Alex laughs and pulls on her helmet.

On the drive home she ponders that Friday late shifts sometimes really weren't the worst.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex slept until a quarter to ten, showered, dressed, fed Vincent and then drove to work. She left her bike in the compound and headed to the subway. She rode from 125 Street to 23 Street and passed the Farmers Market on West 23rd as she walked to meet Nicky in their usual spot in the heart of Chelsea.

She arrived at the diner a few minutes before eleven and took a seat in a booth close to the window. Within seconds of sitting down, a mug appeared on the table before her and coffee was poured into it.

"At last you find time in your busy important life to come see me, Vause. You're practically a stranger to me now."

"Aw c'mon Red," Alex replied. "It's been like three weeks! You make it sound like I've been away for three years."

"You find somewhere else make better pancakes than me, huh?"

"What? No! Of course not."

"Huh," Red huffs. "Of course not. Secret recipe, see? Nobody beats my pancakes in all of New York City. You find better pancakes, you come tell me. I will decide."

"Yeah, no. There's definitely no chance of-"

"She's late," Red cuts her off. "That daughter of mine. She has no respect. But _she_ knows there's no better pancake in all of…" and she walks away again, muttering to herself about pancakes and competition and lack of respect and God alone knows what else.

Alex drinks her coffee and checks her phone for messages. Sure enough, there's one from Nicky.

_Running about 15 mins late. Order for me._

She doesn't really want to encounter Red again quite so soon, so instead of ordering she swipes a newspaper from an adjacent empty table and settles in to read it whilst waiting for Nicky to arrive. She lays the paper on the table, rests her elbow beside it, props her head on her fist and drinks her coffee as she catches up on what's been happening in the past couple of days.

She's just reading an article in the local section about a Columbia student who collapsed the previous evening whilst running in Morningside Park, when Nicky flops into the seat opposite her and dumps her bag on top of the newspaper.

"Fuck, sorry. I had a late night and when I woke up this morning I was in goddamn Williamsburg. Took me forever to get away and then home and, yeah. So. Sorry. Hi."

Alex smiles and extracts the newspaper before folding it and moving it to the seat beside her.

"Williamsburg, huh?"

"Yeah. Well East Williamsburg anyway. You know it?"

"Not really. We were a little further south in the 88th. Williamsburg is covered by the 90th. About the only thing I know about East Williamsburg is that Morello's apartment is there."

"Fuck you, Vause. Nobody likes a smartass."

Alex laughs and gestures to the waitress for more coffee, thankful that Red is out of sight.

"How is she?" Alex asks, once they're alone again.

Nicky smirks. "Insatiable."

That earns her an eye roll from Alex, so she continues, "She's good. She's doing good. She's working part-time in her mom's restaurant now. She's like the queen of pizza or something."

She takes a sip of her newly delivered coffee then adds "She's on her meds. She's doing good."

"Awesome," Alex replies. "I'm glad she's okay. You doing okay?"

Nicky shrugs and smiles up at the waitress as she returns to the table. "You ladies ready to order?"

Alex looks at Nicky. "Go right ahead, I waited for you."

Nicky orders a ham and cheese omelette and is about to ask Alex what she wants when Red bustles into view, carrying a plate laden with a stack of pancakes, eggs and bacon. She practically slams the plate on the table in front of Alex, turns on her heel and stalks away again without uttering a single word.

The waitress raises both eyebrows and looks at Alex.

"I think I'm having pancakes today, thanks," Alex smiles weakly and the waitress leaves.

"What the fuck have you done to upset Red?" Nicky asks, taken aback.

"I have no fucking clue. She seems to think I have been cheating on her pancakes with alternative vastly inferior rival pancakes."

"And have you?"

"Do you think I'm totally fucking stupid? Not a chance! I haven't even _looked_ at another pancake."

Nicky laughs and watches as Alex digs in to her breakfast.

"So what do you know?"

Alex shrugs, chews, swallows. "About what?"

"Anything. News, happenings, whatever. I haven't seen you in a couple of weeks. What's new?"

"Well apparently, _you're_ fucking Morello again…"

Nicky wafts a hand in front of her face, dismissing this piece of 'news'. "I knew that. Jealousy is not an attractive trait, Vause."

Alex laughs. "Totally not jealous."

"Totally are."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"Am not."

"Are too."

"What are you, like ten years old?"

Nicky grins and thanks the waitress as her food is placed before her. She waits until she leaves before speaking again. "You're totally jealous that I have regular sex and you're miserable and alone."

"Not miserable. Blissfully uncomplicated, that's me."

"Uncomplicated and _alone_."

"Fuck you."

"Seriously though, when did you last get some?"

Alex frowns and places her cutlery on the table and looks across at her friend. She picks up her coffee and takes a drink before slowly replacing the cup next to her plate.

"One," she says, holding up a finger, "that's none of your business-"

"So long ago you can't remember, got it." Nicky interjects.

"Two," she continues, holding up a second finger, "I work ridiculous hours and the people I meet when I'm at work are absolutely _not_ the kind of people I'd want to venture into any kind of relationship with-"

"Too choosy, okay."

"Three," a third finger goes up, "if I wanted it, I know where to go for it but I choose not to-"

"Ooh, Sylv's back in town is she?"

"And four," she says without missing a beat, "it's still none of your damn business."

Nicky gestures to the waitress for a coffee refill. Alex picks up her cutlery and resumes eating.

"You know," Nicky says as the waitress walks away again, "you'd be far less fucking grouchy if you just got laid."

.

* * *

.

On the subway ride back to work to commence her late shift a couple of hours later, it's that sentence that sticks in her mind.

_Am I grouchy? Really?_

Alex didn't think so, but then sometimes it takes someone on the outside looking in to notice these things first. She didn't think she was grouchy. She was content, she thought.

She had a good job, the pay was okay, she owned her own home. She enjoyed work and picked up extra shifts occasionally – the overtime pay made it worthwhile – and despite having spent all of her savings on remodelling her house, she was starting to build up a nice little nest egg again.

Maybe a vacation was what she needed. A couple of weeks on a beach somewhere, palm trees and cocktails instead of patrol cars and drunkards. Sure, it'd be nice to have someone to share that with, but that wasn't where she was at in her life right now.

Nicky's reference to Sylvie bugged her. It bugged her because her friend was right – Sylvie _was_ back in town. She had seen her four nights ago and they'd hooked up, but the spark wasn't there. Their relationship had fizzled out a couple of years previously and every time they hooked up Alex was reminded of why they were no longer together. Last time, she didn't even get off, and she lay there afterwards questioning herself on why she kept on repeating past mistakes and wishing Sylvie would just leave.

She was familiar. It was easy. But it was just sex.

And not even _good_ sex.

Alex walks the rest of the way back to work telling herself that she deserves better and that she won't sleep with Sylvie ever again.

By the time she's changed into her uniform and is heading up for briefing, she's already second-guessing that decision.

Even bad sex is better than no sex. Right?

.

* * *

.

"Something on your mind?"

They're three hours in to their shift before Washington asks that question.

"Huh?" Alex looks across at her partner. "No? Should there be?"

"You're awful quiet tonight."

Alex removes her glasses and rubs a thumb and forefinger over her closed eyelids. "Just tired I guess," she mumbles.

"You guess? Or you are?"

Alex frowns and looks out of the window. After a moment she looks back at Washington. "Am I grouchy?"

"What tonight specifically, or all of the time?"

"Tonight. No, all the time." She shakes her head. "Whatever. Just answer the question."

"Not all of the time. You just need to get yourself laid."

"What the fuck?!" Alex throws her hands up exasperated. "Is there a fucking conspiracy happening here around my sex life?"

"And what sex life would that be?" Washington asks, teasing, but scarily accurate.

Alex mutters under her breath and goes back to looking out the window.

"Seriously," Poussey ventures after thirty seconds of silence, "you're not grouchy. But sometimes I'm not convinced you're happy either."

"Is anybody?"

Washington shrugs and takes a left turn. "I am."

"So what's your secret?" Alex asks after taking a moment to contemplate this.

Washington looks over at her. "Regular sex," she says with a wink.

Alex rolls her eyes and shakes her head.

"And not the kind of regular you have with that Sylvie chick."

"Dude, don't even go there."

"Because if that shit was real," Washington continues, "the two of you would still be together. But no. You're not. Yet you keep on going back there, like a sad puppy that just wants to get kicked again. And again. And again."

Alex keeps looking out of the window and doesn't reply.

"And if you ask me – and you _did_ ask me, by the way – you need to cut your losses and move the fuck on. Properly on. Because if you don't, you're always going to be settling for that and that… that just ain't good enough, Vause. It ain't good enough."

Alex nods her head in agreement, but doesn't speak. For the second time today, someone on the outside looking in has made an observation that should've been clear to her for quite some time.

.

* * *

.

With an hour left of their shift, when they were hoping to start heading back towards the precinct, 26-David are dispatched to a 10-58 – assist ambulance – on W 129th in Harlem. Washington flicks on both lights and sirens and they head at speed to the scene.

On arrival, there are two patrol cars and two ambulances already in attendance. One crew is bundling a stocky guy in his twenties onto the back of an ambulance, the other two police patrols are maintaining a perimeter, and the second ambulance crew is working on a younger guy in the street.

Alex notifies dispatch over the radio of their 10-84, arrived at scene, and they climb out of the car. They're about to approach one of the other patrols to establish what's happening, when a loud voice calls out.

"Washington! Get over here!"

Both Alex and her partner turn in the direction the voice came from, and see Diaz gesturing them towards the guy they're working on.

They jog over, Alex looks at the guy on the floor and groans. "Oh fuck, it's Mikey."

She immediately drops to the floor beside him and looks across at the paramedic. "What do you need?"

Chapman looks up. "Do you know him?"

"Professionally." Pulling her gloves on. "What do you need?"

She's positioning a gauze bandage over a wound to his upper chest and applying pressure. Even as Alex watches, the bandage is turning red, saturated by blood.

Chapman holds the gauze in place with one hand, whilst rifling through her bag with the other, pulling out three more dressings. She tosses them in the general direction of Alex, who immediately begins tearing open the sterile packaging.

"We need to move him. _Now_." Diaz's voice is calm but the tension is evident.

"I have to get a line in. He's losing too much blood."

Diaz sprints back to the Ambulance and returns with a 500ml bag of saline which she passes to Washington. "Hold this."

Washington does as she's told, becoming an impromptu drip-stand as her girlfriend pulls a selection of needles out of the bag and passes them to her crew mate.

Chapman looks across at Alex. "Ready with that gauze?"

Alex has all three bandages open, stacked, and ready to apply. "Whatever you need."

"On three. One… two…"

At the count of three she moves her bandage away and Alex instantly replaces it with her own, pressing down hard on the gunshot wound. The patient groans and opens his eyes briefly.

"We gotcha Mikey," Alex says quietly. "You hang in there."

He takes a couple of ragged breaths, then croaks "Vause?"

Still applying her weight to the wound, Alex replies softly "Yeah bud, I'm here."

"Off- Officer Vause," he starts, then drags in another painful breath.

"Shhhh," she hushes him. "Quiet. Just breathe, okay. Just breathe, Mikey."

"I didn't… I..." he tries to speak again, and again she quiets him.

"I know. I know bud. It's okay. Just concentrate on breathing. In and out."

She looks across and watches as Chapman inserts a line into his arm, then attaches and adjusts the drip making sure the flow is at the required rate. When she looks back at Mikey, it's in time to observe a tear run from his eye and across his cheek before dropping to the floor beside his head.

"We gotcha Mikey," she repeats, "hang in there. In and out, bud. In and out."

Mikey does as she instructs, but his breaths are slow, laboured and clearly painful. She looks across at Chapman, who pauses briefly when she catches the pleading and fearful look in Alex's eye.

"Get the stretcher," she says to Diaz, without breaking eye contact with Alex. "We've got to move him."

Diaz is back with the stretcher in under fifteen seconds. A backboard is under Mikey in less than thirty, and ten seconds after that he's on the stretcher and being dragged to the ambulance. Washington is running after them with the bag of saline held aloft, Alex is running alongside the stretcher still applying pressure to the wound.

They bump and bang on to the back of the ambulance, the saline is hooked to a drip stand, Washington and Diaz jump off the truck and the doors are slammed shut behind them.

Chapman is tearing open more gauze bandages. Alex hears Washington declaring them 10-87 over her radio, advising dispatch they're en route to hospital. Diaz starts the ambulance and Alex braces herself against the side of the vehicle for the ride ahead.

"Hang in there, Mikey," she says, pressing harder on the blood-soaked gauze. "Just hold on."

.

* * *

.

They arrived on scene at 11:05pm.

At 01:35am, just over ninety minutes after their shift officially ended, Vause and Washington were back in their street clothes and sitting in Red's all-night diner in Chelsea.

Red was still there when they arrived, but she took one look at Alex's face and the hostility she'd shown her earlier was no longer evident. They took a seat at the same booth Alex and Nicky had occupied twelve hours earlier and they waited.

Red brought them coffee and warm apple pie. As she left for the night, she went over and kissed Alex on the side of her head.

"You take care, moya devushka," she murmured before leaving.

Washington ate her pie, Alex took one bite then pushed hers around her plate with her fork. They drank their coffee in silence and they waited.

At 2:20am, the door to the diner opened and both turned to look at the new arrivals. Diaz and Chapman entered and looked around. They spotted the two cops and made their way toward them.

They were six paces away when Alex stood.

They stopped.

Diaz looked from Alex to Poussey then back to Alex. She took one more hesitant step forward then stopped again and slowly shook her head.

"Oh fuck no," she breathed, then sank heavily back into her seat, holding her head in her hands.

Diaz approached and squeezed Alex's shoulder, then hugged Poussey before sitting beside her.

Chapman slid into the booth seat alongside Alex and touched her arm lightly with her fingertips, before folding her hands in her lap. The four of them sat in silence.

A waitress appeared with two more cups for the new arrivals, poured coffee into them and topped up Alex and Poussey's, then left again. She didn't offer menus or polite conversation. She'd seen this scene played out before.

.

* * *

.

"And he said… no wait, he said '_No Officer Vause, Henry is my cat_!'"

All four of them burst out laughing, Alex wiping at her eyes with the heel of her hand at Poussey's recounting of the tale. When the laughter had subsided, Alex let out a resigned sigh.

"He was a good kid," she smiled.

"He was," Washington agreed. Then after a brief pause, "But he was an even better kid because a good cop showed him the way."

Alex looked across at her partner and after a moment she nodded her acknowledgment. A small smile and a nod of thanks.

Washington nodded back.

There was a moment of silence, then Washington checked her watch and declared that as fun as this had been, the sun was about to come up and this was never meant to be a night shift and she needed her bed. She and Diaz gathered their things and all four of them stood.

"You heading home too?" Daya asked.

Alex shook her head. "Not yet. I'm gonna have another coffee then I'll catch an Uber back to base, pick up the bike. I need more caffeine before riding though."

Chapman spoke up. "I have my car. I drove Daya and myself here, I could give you a ride?"

Alex looked at her and smiled a little. "That's kind of you, but I live the other side of the river. It's cool. I can drive."

"Well at least let her drive you up to the 26th," Washington chipped in. Then before Alex could protest, added "it'll make me feel better, okay?"

Alex looked at Washington for a moment, then back at Chapman. "If you're sure that's okay?"

"I'm sure. Happy to."

"Okay. Then, thank you."

They all moved out of the booth to say their goodbyes. Alex and Daya hugged, with Daya squeezing just a little harder than usual. Washington punched Alex hard in the bicep, then backed away.

"See you tonight, guys."

Diaz and Washington moved away, Alex took her seat again back in the booth, Chapman gave one last wave to the departing couple then took Washington's seat opposite Alex.

As soon as she sat, the waitress appeared.

She refilled two cups and cleared away the other two. As she poured, she spoke. "Red just called, Alex. Asked if you were still here. She said I'm to pour you this cup and tell you this is your last one. Says I'm to tell you it's almost five a.m., I'm to kick you out and to call the cops if you refuse to leave."

Alex smiled. "Is that right?"

The waitress shrugged. "Not just any cops either. Said I'm to call the 26th."

Alex chuckled. "I hate her."

The waitress grinned. "You love her. Almost as much as she loves you. Now drink up and get outta here."

Alex smiled a genuine smile and nodded her agreement. "Thanks Shirl."

Shirl the waitress gave her a wink and moved away.

"Well," Chapman started, "I don't know who this 'Red' person is, but she certainly seems to have your number!"

Alex smiled. "Red owns this place. I've known her… a lot of years. She's a friend, and a kind of surrogate mom, and… an enigma. I've never known anyone quite like her. She's pretty special, in an arrogant and bossy and annoying kinda way."

Chapman grinned. "I look forward to meeting her. I think."

"She's good people," Alex replied. "Listen, it's okay you know. You really don't need to give me a ride back up to the 26th. I'll be fine."

"Oh I'm sure you would be. But I most certainly would _not_ be, if _my_ partner and _your _partner found out I'd actually let you make your own way back there after they'd entrusted you to my care."

"Entrusted me to your care?" Alex smiled. "Is that what's happened here?"

Chapman half shrugged. "They care about you," she said quietly. "Let them do that."

Alex leaned back in her seat and studied Chapman for a moment. She took a sip of her coffee, then cradled the mug in both hands against her chest. After a few seconds of contemplation she nodded. "Okay," she said softly. "Okay."

.

* * *

.

"Where do you live?" Alex asked as she climbed into the passenger seat of Chapman's car.

"Not too far from here," she replied as she clicked her seatbelt into place. "I have an apartment on Bank. In the Village."

"Wait a second," Alex started, "that's like completely the opposite direction!"

Chapman checked her mirror and pulled away from the kerb. "Yup," she said simply.

"Oh hey Chapman, I didn't want you going out of your way. I'm fine, really. Let me out and I'll get an Uber. It's no big deal."

"And it's no big deal driving you uptown either. Or home, wherever you want."

"Uptown is fine," Alex replied a little reluctantly. Then quieter, "thank you."

They drove a couple of blocks in silence before Alex spoke again.

"How long've you lived in the Village?"

"A couple of years. I moved down from Connecticut, my parents are still up there, but I moved here for work."

"You like it?"

Chapman shrugged. "It's okay. I live within walking distance of most things. The atmosphere in the Village is cool, I feel at home there."

"You live in walking distance of most things, yet you have a car…"

Chapman smiled. "Like I said, my parents are still up in Connecticut. Riverside. Having the car makes getting home easier. I can be there in a little over an hour depending on traffic, as opposed to more than two by bus and train."

"Makes sense."

"It's been in the shop for a couple of days, which is why I have it today. I picked it up on my way in to work. Mostly it spends its time in a shady parking garage that my dad pays a small fortune for."

"You go home often?"

Chapman shakes her head and pulls a bit of a face. "Once a month, maybe? Depends on my shifts and… y'know, stuff."

"Stuff, yeah," Alex replies. "I know all about 'stuff'."

They share a smile and Chapman takes the turn on to 12th. Even at 5am, traffic is backing up towards West 30th, so they crawl slowly in the queue for a little while.

"What about you," Chapman starts, "you said you lived over the river?"

"Yeah, that's right. I live in Leonia, over by Overpeck Park. Takes me fifteen-twenty minutes to get to work on the bike, but I'm far enough away from the city that it feels like another world. I've been there four years now. It's peaceful. I love it."

"I grew up in peaceful," Chapman says with a smile. "Right now, I'm enjoying the hustle and bustle of the city. I may tire of that eventually, but for now it's nice to feel part of something. Where I live is cool, and I fit in, and that wasn't the case where I grew up. There's an acceptance in the Village that I haven't experienced anywhere else I've lived."

"The trick," Alex replies, "is finding that acceptance within yourself. Once you have that, you take it with you wherever you go."

Chapman raises her eyebrows and looks across at Alex. "Wow, that's deep," she says with a smile. "You sure you're a cop and not a philosopher?"

"I'm many things," Alex smiles slightly. "But right now, I'm just bone tired."

The traffic ahead of them opens up and Chapman steers the car into a clear stretch of road. "On it," she replies.

.

* * *

.

"Vause? Vause?" Softly at first, then a little louder. "Alex!"

Alex jolts awake, the hand on her shoulder shaking gently. She lifts her head from where it was resting on the window, and blinks a couple of times.

"What? Huh?" Alex looks around, unsure of her bearings.

"You fell asleep," Chapman says softly.

Alex's hand goes to the side of her neck and she groans quietly, pressing against the sore spot that had formed due to her sleeping position.

"Shit, sorry," she rubs at her neck whilst looking around. "Where are…? What?"

"Seriously Alex. If you fell asleep in my car after three minutes on the Henry Hudson Parkway, there's no way I could let you ride your bike home."

Alex removes her glasses and rubs at her eyes, before replacing them and looking around again. They're parked on the forecourt of an auto lot at the intersection of Fort Lee Road and Grand Avenue.

Leonia.

Alex rubs at her sore neck and nods slowly. Her mouth feels like it's lined with sandpaper, her tongue thick.

She gestures with her hand. "Take a left," she says, her voice raspier than usual. "Left onto Grand, then second right onto Maple."

Chapman does as she's instructed, pulling the car back out on to the road. Alex rolls her neck as Chapman guides her car onto Maple, trying to work out the crick that has formed.

"Next right."

Chapman takes the next right and Alex notices her shield a yawn with the back of her hand as she does so.

"Along here on the left," Alex says, "just after the black SUV."

Chapman slows the car as she pulls alongside the SUV and Alex gestures to a driveway on the left of the tree-lined street. "This is me," she says, "you can swing it in here."

Chapman pulls the car off the road and onto the driveway, but leaves the engine running.

"Sorry for kidnapping you and bringing you home," she says with a small smile.

"That's okay," Alex replies, reaching into the back seat for her satchel. "I'm grateful, really. I'll be honest with you, I wasn't gonna drive home, I was gonna get my head down on a bench in the locker room for a couple of hours and then drive back here after I wasn't quite so beat."

"Oh, I didn't-" Chapman starts, but Alex raises a hand and cuts her off.

"No. This is good. This is way better. Thank you."

Chapman nods and wrings her hands on the steering wheel. "So, I'll guess I'll-" the rest of her sentence is cut off abruptly and replaced with a shriek as something lands suddenly and with a heavy thud on the hood of her car, right in front of her.

Alex is startled, but is quicker to realise what's happened than the woman in the driving seat.

"Vincent!" she yells, "Get the fuck down!"

Chapman is holding one hand against her chest and is breathing rapidly, but her fear quickly turns to laughter when she realises that it's just a cat.

"Get _down_!" Alex repeats, making a shooing gesture with her hand.

Vincent looks at her through the windshield, then stretches and yawns before lying down on the warm hood of the car without a care in the world. Chapman kills the engine, as Alex wrenches open her door.

"Oh you little…" she mutters under her breath, climbing out of the car. She pauses and looks back in through the open door. "Sorry about this. I'll just…" she closes the door and walks around to the front, lifting the cat from the hood and dumping him unceremoniously on the pavement.

Chapman winds her window down as Alex leans over the front of the car, checking the hood for scratches.

"I don't think he's marked it," Alex says as she approaches Chapman's window. "If he has, you must tell me. I'll get it fixed. I can't see properly though, it'll be easier when it's full daylight."

She glances up at the sky, which is beginning to turn pink as thin fingers of daylight creep across the grey.

"It'll be fine, really," Chapman says, looking up at Alex. She stifles another yawn, then continues, "I'm more concerned about the heart attack I almost had, honestly."

Alex continues to look at the sky, turning her head slightly to watch the progress of the breaking day.

"Are you okay?" Chapman asks after a few seconds.

Alex looks at her, initially confused by the question. She frowns and tilts her head to the side, studying her in the car.

"What's your name?" she asks.

"I'm sorry? My…?"

"I just realised, I only know you as Chapman. What's your name?"

She smiles, understanding. "Oh! Piper. My name's Piper."

"_Piper_," Alex repeats, as if testing the word in her mouth. "Piper Chapman."

Piper nods, looking up at Alex curiously.

After a moment, Alex takes a step back and opens the car door. "Well now I know your name, _Piper_, I think that makes us friends," she leans in and takes the keys from the vehicle's ignition and steps away. "And friends don't let friends drive drowsy. C'mon."

She twirls the keys around her finger and starts to walk towards the house.

"Wait! But, I…"

Alex looks back over her shoulder and grins, holding the keys aloft. Piper presses the button to close the window and chuckles to herself.

"I'm pretty sure the saying ends with the word 'drunk', you know," Piper says with a grin as she clambers out of her car.

"Don't argue with an officer of the law, Piper Chapman," Alex says sternly, but her smile belies her tone.

She presses the button to lock the car and continues toward her house. Piper follows and Vincent pads gently behind her.

The sky continues to lighten as another day begins, but yesterday isn't quite over yet.


	3. Chapter 3

After a moment, Alex takes a step back and opens the car door. "Well now I know your name, _Piper_, I think that makes us friends," she leans in and takes the keys from the vehicle's ignition and steps away. "And friends don't let friends drive drowsy. C'mon."

She twirls the keys around her finger and starts to walk towards the house.

"Wait! But, I…"

Alex looks back over her shoulder and grins, holding the keys aloft. Piper presses the button to close the window and chuckles to herself.

"I'm pretty sure the saying ends with the word 'drunk', you know," Piper says with a grin as she clambers out of her car.

"Don't argue with an officer of the law, Piper Chapman," Alex says sternly, but her smile belies her tone.

She presses the button to lock the car and continues toward her house. Piper follows and Vincent pads gently behind her.

The sky continues to lighten as another day begins, but yesterday isn't quite over yet.

.

* * *

.

The first thing Alex notices when she wakes, is that she isn't in her bed. The second thing she notices, is that she isn't alone.

From her position sprawled on the couch, Alex sees Piper across the room. She's sitting in one of the wingback armchairs and her feet are resting atop the matching footstool. In one hand she holds a cup of what smells to Alex like coffee, and in the other she holds a book.

Alex doesn't move, she lies still and just watches the other woman. Piper is still wearing the same clothes as when she got away from work last night, her blonde hair is loose from the ponytail Alex has always seen it in, and she's tucked one side behind her ear. Her forehead is creased in concentration as she reads the book, a title that Alex realises has been plucked from her own bookshelves.

On her lap, purring contentedly, is Vincent.

"That cat is such a whore," Alex says, announcing her conscious state to the room.

Piper places the book on the arm of the chair and looks across at Alex with a smile. "Ah, it lives!"

Alex rolls onto her back and rubs her fists into both eyes. "What time is it?" she yawns.

"Three-forty," Piper replies, glancing at her watch.

Alex freezes, then turns her head to look at Piper. "The fuck it is!"

Piper grins and nods. "You've had a solid nine hours. Little bit more, actually. You fell asleep almost as soon as you sat down."

Alex grimaces and then pushes herself upright, swinging her legs from the couch to the floor.

"I'm such an awesome host," she says sarcastically as she reaches for her glasses. "Sorry."

"Don't worry about it," Piper replies. She raises her cup of coffee to show Alex and adds, "I made myself right at home."

Alex takes a moment to orient herself, then stands. "Okay. I'm gonna go take a quick shower, then I'll make us some breakfast. Or lunch. Fuck, it's almost dinner…" she says as she wanders from the room.

Piper thinks about telling her it's okay and she doesn't need anything, but then she thinks better of it and relaxes back into the armchair, picking up her borrowed book once more.

.

* * *

.

Alex reappears fifteen minutes later. She is wearing a long flowing black skirt that reaches to her ankles, a simple V-necked white cotton tee, and is brushing her long hair as she walks back in to the living room.

"Man, I feel better for that," she announces, tossing her still-damp hair over her shoulder.

Piper glances up and then does a fast double-take, taking in the sight of Alex before her.

She is barefoot and there's just a glimpse of pale ankle visible. Her arms and shoulders are toned, the muscles clearly defined, and Piper finds her eyes drawn to those shoulders. Alex's hair is long and dark, falling past her shoulders, and it's the first time Piper has seen it out of the bun she keeps it in for work.

She clears her throat quietly and deliberately turns her eyes back to the book in her hand.

"You want to take a shower?" Alex asks, twisting back towards the doorway and gesturing with a thumb in that direction.

"I don't have any clean clothes," Piper replies. "It's okay. I'll grab one at home before heading in to work tonight."

"You're sure? I could find you something that'd fit. It's not a problem."

Piper forces herself to look back at Alex. "Thanks, but no." She closes the book and places it on the arm of the chair then sits up a little straighter. "I should be heading home anyway."

"You're not gonna stay for brinner?"

"Excuse me?"

Alex smiles a little lopsidedly. "Brinner. It's when you have breakfast at dinner. It's a thing. Trust me, it's so a thing."

"You've just totally made that up," Piper grins.

"No! It's a thing. Brinner. It's like brunch but for shift workers."

Alex is smiling and her hair is resting atop her right shoulder. Piper's eyes are drawn to her shoulders for the second time.

_I should go_, she thinks.  
"Sure, okay." She says.

"Great," Alex replies, "it's the least I can do to thank you for bringing me home last night."

"This morning," Piper corrects her, as she lifts Vincent from her lap and places him on the floor.

"True. It was a long night," Alex says as she moves into the kitchen.

She's followed by Piper, who is followed by Vincent, who promptly takes up his usual position in the middle of the kitchen floor.

"You want another coffee?" Alex asks, gesturing to the machine. "Help yourself."

She pulls open the fridge and starts to remove ingredients and pile them on the counter. "Anything you don't eat?" she asks as she places eggs, bacon, sausage and spinach on the worktop.

"Oysters," Piper replies without hesitation, reaching for a second cup out of the cupboard.

Alex laughs. "You're safe. I don't tend to serve oysters with brinner."

"They're disgusting," Piper says, screwing her face up. "They're gooey and taste like ocean and they have poop in them. I don't want to eat poop."

Alex places a pan on the stovetop and puts heat under the sausage and bacon, then turns to look at Piper. "They have _what_ in them?"

"You heard me," Piper replies as she pours a cup of coffee. "I'm not eating _that_."

Alex isn't sure if Piper is being serious or not, so responds with "They're not all bad. They're supposed to be an aphrodisiac."

"You need help with stimulating your sexual desire?" Piper asks.

Alex almost drops the eggs she's holding on hearing Piper's response and turns to look at her, surprised by her boldness.

Piper finishes pouring the second cup of coffee and turns toward Alex, "Because if you do, I hate to break it to you, but you're doing it with the wrong person."

She offers the cup to Alex who takes it from her wordlessly.

Piper shrugs slightly, then turns and moves to the end of the bench. She takes a sip of her coffee, then speaks to Alex again.

"Anything I can help you with?"

"I, uh, _what_?" Alex is stunned as it appears she's being directly propositioned.

Piper gestures towards the ingredients Alex has placed on the counter. "With brinner?"

"Ohhh! Oh. Um, brinner, right. Yeah. Um, could you make some toast?"

She turns back to the cooker and turns the bacon and sausages in the pan, hoping her cheeks aren't quite as red as she thinks they may be.

Piper smiles slightly, noticing the blush that now covers Alex's cheeks. She decides not to comment, and instead busies herself making the toast.

Ten minutes later, they're seated at the small table in Alex's kitchen eating the meal they've jointly prepared.

"You have a beautiful home," Piper remarks and Alex thanks her for the compliment.

"It's not much, but it's mine. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears – mostly mine – to get it to this state, but I think it was worth it."

"Definitely. You have great taste."

Alex laughs drily. "In some things, maybe."

Piper looks at her quizzically and Alex shakes her head and smiles a little. "Only yesterday Washington was telling me how poor my taste was."

"Oh?"

Alex shrugs. "Ex-girlfriend specifically."

"Ah. She wasn't a fan, I take it."

"Nope," Alex replies, "and to be honest I wasn't either, but you know how these things go. Sometimes the familiar is easy, but that doesn't make it right."

"Have you been separated long?"

"Couple of years now. I still see her occasionally, but it was right that we went our separate ways. We didn't go out with a bang, it was more like things slowly fizzled and sputtered and eventually died out. Kinda symbolic of our entire relationship really."

"Yeah, that doesn't sound like a whole barrel of laughs."

"You live and learn, huh?"

"I don't know," Piper replies. "Do you?"

Alex laughs softly. "I'm certainly trying, but admit sometimes I need to try harder."

"Don't we all," Piper agrees.

Alex stands and refills her coffee,

"How're you finding things with Diaz, anyway? You transferred over from another shift, right?"

"Yeah, I did. I was on Shift One, but put in for a transfer back in February. It's taken this long for it to actually happen."

"You're working the same patch as before?"

"Yep. Same locality, same station house. Just transferred to a different shift."

Alex leans back against the counter and cradles her coffee, looking back at Piper with a frown.

"You requested the transfer?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Something happen?"

"Sorry?"

Alex makes her way back to the table and takes her seat again. "It's unusual, that's all. Transferring to another locality, or another role, that seems plausible. But transferring from one shift to another, with no change to working practice? That's unusual. Same shift pattern, same rate of pay, same job, just a different team… it's uncommon, particularly as you _requested_ it. So, why? Did something happen?"

Piper raises her eyebrows as Alex finishes speaking. "Wow," she replies quietly. "You should be a cop."

She forces a slight smile and pushes her chair back from the table. "I really should be heading home," she says as she stands, picking up her plate and cup and moving towards the sink. "Thank you for brinner though, it was really good."

She places the crockery in the sink and turns on the hot tap. As she reaches for the dishwashing soap, she's stopped by Alex placing a gentle hand on her forearm.

"Hey, don't do that," Alex says softly. "And don't do _that_ either," she continues as she turns the water off again. "I got it."

Piper tucks her hair back behind her ear. "It's no problem, it's the least I can-"

"I'm sorry." Alex cuts her off. Then, when Piper looks back at the dishes in the sink, "hey, look at me, please."

Piper does but can't quite hold Alex's eye as she continues "I'm sorry, okay? I didn't mean to push or be insensitive or whatever. I didn't want to upset you or make you feel uncomfortable."

Piper nods, her eyes fixed on Alex's chin.

"And I definitely didn't want to make things so awkward that you feel you have to leave immediately. So stay, please. Stay a little longer, we'll have another coffee and we'll talk about absolutely anything other than work, okay?"

Piper smiles a little and Alex continues, "Or tea. It doesn't have to be coffee, have some tea. I'll bet I can find some hippy flavoured shit that'd be right up your street."

Piper grins. "Hippy flavoured shit?"

Alex turns away and opens a cupboard, rummaging in the back. "Of course! Now me? I'm boring and I stick with plain old black tea, but you, you live in the Village… I'll bet you're into far more interesting and exotic blen- aha! Here you go!"

Alex pulls two boxes out of the cupboard and places them triumphantly on the counter beside Piper. "Lemon, ginger and ginseng," she reads from the first pack, "or Blueberry Hibiscus."

She pulls a face showing just how disgusting she finds the second option and Piper can't help but laugh softly.

"I'm not sure if that's Blueberry _and_ Hibiscus, or some kind of hybrid plant they've grafted in a greenhouse laboratory somewhere, but whatever it is, I can offer you tea."

Alex turns the pack in her hand, then reads from the packaging. "_Tangy Nigerian hibiscus mingles with the lush, deep flavour of blueberries in this fragrant, floral blend. Sip and sigh as you revel in hints of berry and bright citrus flavours in the hibiscus_."

"Sip and sigh?" Piper asks, laughing.

"I swear to you that's what it says right here!"

"Well I kinda feel like I have to have it now," Piper says, smiling. "Just to see if it makes me sip and sigh."

"My job does that for me," Alex replies, "but it's usually bourbon that I'm sipping."

She looks at Piper and winks, then raises the packet. "Tea?" she asks, wiggling the box slightly.

"Tea," Piper confirms with a nod. "I'd love some."

.

* * *

.

It's three in the morning and they're patrolling the streets of Harlem. Sunday night had crept into Monday morning and Alex is guiding the car through the quieting streets. They'd had two lock-ups so far this shift and responded to one intruder alarm that turned out to be an actual cat rather than a cat-burglar.

Alex takes a right from West 138th onto Malcolm X Boulevard and slows to a stop at Dunkin, opposite the hospital.

"Usual?" Alex asks, reaching for her seatbelt.

"Nah, I'll get 'em. It's cool," Washington replies as she climbs out of the car.

Alex waits, checking the on-board tablet for any outstanding jobs. As she's scrolling the screen, she's startled by someone banging on the passenger side window of the patrol car. She relaxes when she realises it's Diaz, grinning and waving with both hands as Chapman waits beside her, hands stuffed into the pockets of her jacket.

Alex rolls her eyes and points in the direction of the shop and Diaz and her partner head off in that direction.

A little over five minutes later, Washington returns to the car and passes Alex her coffee.

"Diaz found you, yeah?" Alex asks as she takes the coffee.

"Yeah. They're on a break, whatever one of those is. Anything happening?"

"Nuh-uh. I don't want to use the Q word, but it's looking pretty much that way tonight. Want to head over to St Nick's?"

"You're the driver. Your call."

Alex pulls the car away from the kerb and drives the short journey to St Nicholas Park, pulling into the parking area and killing the lights. She takes the top off her coffee cup and blows across the surface of the hot liquid before taking a sip.

"I read a book a couple of weeks ago, and in it, whenever the main dude took a sip of coffee he immediately '_felt a hit_', or '_got a jolt' _as soon as he swallowed it and it went into his bloodstream."

"For real?"

"For real."

"You sure he was sipping and not mainlining?"

"Right?! I had to stop reading it. It was pissing me off."

"A real book?"

"A real book. Real publisher, too. Not some of that self-published-on-Amazon bullshit that I keep falling for."

"That is the _second_ most shocking thing I've heard tonight."

Alex looks across at her partner. "Oh?"

"Yeah. The first is that I've just discovered Chapman spent the night at your house yesterday."

Alex shakes her head and looks away from her grinning partner. "Yeah yeah. Not like that though."

Washington laughs. "That's exactly what she said!"

"That's because it's the truth," Alex replies, turning her attention back to her coffee.

They're quiet for the next half a minute. Washington breaks the silence. "So like what then?"

"Hmm?"

"How did she end up spending the night? I thought she was running you back to the station?"

"She was," Alex sighs, "then I fell asleep in her fucking car and when I woke up, we were in Leonia."

Washington laughs again. "You fell asleep?!"

"Twice," Alex admits. "After she took me home, I then fell asleep on the couch too. When I woke up, it was almost four."

"Oh my god. Oh my god. I don't believe you!"

"Dude, if you remember, I'd had a rough night!"

It takes a few seconds for Washington to stop laughing, "I know it was a rough night, Vause, but come _on_! Shit. Tell me you at least kissed her, yeah?"

"_What_? No!" Alex is indignant and Washington holds both of her hands up, palms toward her partner defensively.

"Okay, okay, I was only asking."

"It wasn't like that," Alex says, after a few seconds of silence.

"So I ask again, what _was_ it like?"

Alex drinks her coffee and considers how to answer. Eventually she shrugs and replies simply "It was just nice."

"Nice." Washington makes quotation marks with her fingers.

"I don't know what you want me to say. She took me home, I fell asleep. When I woke up I was on the couch and she was in the chair drinking coffee. I made her brinner and we hung out until it was time to come to work."

"That's it?"

"That's it."

"Is there something wrong with you?"

"Fuck you, Washington."

"You losing your touch?"

"Enough."

"Something wrong with your glasses?"

"I mean it."

"If you're not going there because of that Sylvie chick, I'm going to have to kill you. You know that right?"

Alex gives her partner a warning look and the pair fall silent again.

"I'm just saying…" Washington tries again, a few seconds later.

"Well just don't," Alex snaps. Then softer, "Please. Just don't."

The radio chooses that moment to crackle into life, dispatching 26-David to a 10-53 at the corner of West 118th and Malcom X.

Both officers refasten their seatbelts and stow their coffees. Alex restarts the car and they pull out of the park heading to the one vehicle collision.

"Saved by the job," Washington smiles.

"I've never been more grateful for a call, honestly," Alex replies.

"You've gotta admit she's cute though."

Alex turns the car on to St Nicholas Avenue and flicks on the lightbar as she accelerates.

"There's nothing wrong with my glasses, Washington. Now let it go."

Washington laughs quietly. "I'll take that."

.

* * *

.

Shortly after eight a.m., Vause and Washington have changed out of their kit and are walking together back to the compound to collect their vehicles.

"Um, so, I have a question…" Alex starts hesitantly.

"Sup?"

"The new kid. Chapman."

"Ohhhhh, here we go! What happened to 'Fuck you, Washington' and 'let it go'?"

Alex lets out a quiet sigh of defeat and switches her bag across her shoulder. "I know, I know."

"You seeing her now? For breakfast?"

"No! I'm not seeing her at all. I Just have a question."

"Hit me."

"Don't tempt me," Alex mumbles.

"Hey! I meant hit me with the question!"

Alex swings her leg over the bike and sits back, resting her helmet on the fuel tank.

"What do you know about her transfer?"

"Chapman's?"

"Yeah. She transferred in from Shift One. Any idea why?"

"I heard she requested it."

"Yeah. But why?"

"I don't know. Want me to ask Daya?"

"No. No don't do that. It's okay. Thanks anyway."

Washington pauses, then asks "You know why transfers usually happen though, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do."

"Whatever the reason, you can bet it wasn't a good one. They never are."

Alex sighs and nods her agreement, then pulls her helmet on and starts her bike. She exchanges a fist bump with her partner and they both head their separate ways to home.


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Apologies for the delay in posting this chapter. Real life angst intervened. The next chapter shouldn't take as long.**_

* * *

Alex swings her leg over the bike and sits back, resting her helmet on the fuel tank.

"What do you know about her transfer?"

"Chapman's?"

"Yeah. She transferred in from Shift One. Any idea why?"

"I heard she requested it."

"Yeah. But why?"

"I don't know. Want me to ask Daya?"

"No. No don't do that. It's okay. Thanks anyway."

Washington pauses, then asks "You know why transfers usually happen though, right?"

"Yeah. Yeah I do."

"Whatever the reason, you can bet it wasn't a good one. They never are."

Alex sighs and nods her agreement, then pulls her helmet on and starts her bike. She exchanges a fist bump with her partner and they both head their separate ways to home.

.

* * *

.

Monday night shifts were usually quiet, but clearly the citizens of the Upper West Side had not got that particular memo tonight. From the moment the shift had started, Officers Vause and Washington were being dispatched to job after job after job.

They had dealt with two traffic collisions, a robbery, three domestic incidents and one drunken fight in the street all before four a.m. and they were just about to try and grab a coffee when dispatch called them yet again.

"26-David, can you make the bridge from West 138th over to Riverside Park. We're receiving multiple 10-67 calls that there's a male on top of the safety barrier over the Parkway, possible 5150."

Alex sighed. "Must be a full moon."

The two cops exchanged a glance and Washington flicked on the lightbar and pulled a u-turn in the street. Alex keyed her radio. "10-4. Show us State 5. ETA two minutes."

"Roger that," dispatch replied. "26 Adam, Henry, FD and EMS are also en route."

"Hopefully they'll get there before us," Alex said to her partner. "These are not my favourite jobs."

"Don't give me that full moon bullshit. That's just superstition."

"It is not! We are always hit with jobs like this when it's a full moon."

"It'll be another relationship breakup," Washington replied, unable to keep the cynicism from her voice. "Twenty bucks says whoever it is is too drunk to stand, has had a fight with his girlfriend and she's kicked him out."

"Dude, you're _harsh_."

"You know I'm right. If he wanted to jump, he'd be gone by now."

"Well let's just hope he's still up there when we get there, then."

"You're about to find out…" Washington replied, as she pulled the car off the road and onto the pavement.

Both officers climbed out of the car and made their way along the walkway. Even before they got close, they could see someone perched precariously on top of the safety barrier further along.

"Dispatch this is 26-David. We are 10-84. No other units present. Approaching the subject now."

.

* * *

.

Two hours and change later, Alex walks off the bridge and to the waiting ambulance with the male and hands him over to the waiting crew.

"This is Tyrell. He's a little cold as he's been up on that bridge for a couple of hours, he's drank a quarter bottle of vodka whilst he's been up there and he had a litre and a half before going up. He says he's not used any substances, but I'm a cop and he's not gonna tell me anyway, are you Tyrell?"

Tyrell looks at his feet and doesn't reply, just shakes his head gently.

"He's doing okay. No OD, just too much to drink and a disagreement with his girlfriend. He's all yours guys."

Alex claps her hand on Tyrell's shoulder and tells him to take care of himself, then turns and heads back towards her waiting patrol car. Washington is there already, leaning against the front wing and talking into her radio updating control on the situation and outcome.

"We good to go?"

"Yeah, all good."

Washington pulls open the car door. "Back to the House?"

Alex checks her watch. They are ninety minutes away from the end of their shift. "You think we can stretch it?"

"I'll drive slow. We'll tell them we're Code 7 when we get there. Easy."

"I don't have any food, we can't go Code 7."

"So we'll stop and get something on the way back. You can get food, some coffee, the twenty bucks you owe me... 'full moon' my ass."

Alex sighs with defeat. "I shoulda made Tyrell give me the twenty, huh? I might start doing that. Charging them for wasting my fucking time."

"On the other hand, he'd had so much to drink he might've fell off if you hadn't intervened. So that would mean you've just saved another life, rather than had your time wasted."

Alex looks across at her partner. "You think?"

Washington shrugs and starts the car. "No that's bullshit. I'm just trying to make you feel better about the twenty bucks you owe me," she laughs.

"How do I go about getting a new partner again? Remind me? What form is it I have to complete?"

"Oh that hurts! I'm wounded!"

"Fuck you," Alex smiles and fastens her seatbelt. "Now take me to the nearest ATM dammit."

.

* * *

.

Washington slams her locker closed and attaches the lock. "You coming for breakfast?"

Alex continues lacing her boots and looks up at her partner. "No, I don't think so. I know the clock says it's time for breakfast, but my body is telling me it's time for dinner. I hate night shifts. I never know what to eat and when."

"I know. You tell me this every fucking week. My advice is the same – come eat. Bacon is an all-day food."

"Yeah no. I'm beat. My bed is calling me." Alex stands and locks her locker. "I'll walk out with you though."

The two cops leave the station house and walk around to the compound.

"You have plans for your rest days?" Alex asks.

"Yeah, we're going upstate for a couple of days. One of Daya's friends just had a baby, so we're gonna visit and she'll get broody and I'll say no we can't have a baby and she'll say ohbuttheyresocuuuute and I'll stick to my guns and we'll have a fight and then drive three hours home in silence. How about you?"

Alex laughs. "Wow you make it sound so appealing! My plans aren't quite as dramatic. Laundry, grocery shopping, lunch with Nicky on Thursday, Vincent has a date with the Vet to get his shots… I think that's it. It's all very domesticated."

"It's all very _boring_," Washington responds.

"Hey at least I'm not fighting with my girlfriend."

"You don't _have_ a girlfriend!"

"Well I kinda ha-"

"If you say Sylvie, you should know that I'm gonna full on punch you in the face right now."

The latter part of the sentence is delivered just as the pair round the corner and two heads instantly whip around to see what's going on.

"Don't worry Vause, if she punches you I'm right here to nurse you back to health" Diaz says.

Alex smiles at Diaz and nods a greeting to Chapman. "Don't worry, if she tried to punch me she wouldn't do any damage. She can't reach past my thighs, on account of her being so teeny-tiny-iddle-widdle."

"Hey!" Washington protests, and then again, louder, at Diaz for laughing. "_Hey_! You're supposed to be on my side!"

Daya grins and slides an arm around Alex's waist and moves in close, resting her cheek on the front of the other woman's shoulder. Alex's arm wraps around Daya's shoulders and she pulls her in, cuddling her close and pressing her lips to the smaller woman's hair.

"You know she'll always choose me over you, Washington. Accept it."

"I don't know why I put up with either of you," Washington mutters, turning to walk to her car. "Chapman, you coming for breakfast?"

Alex and Daya laugh, Piper looks bemused. "Er yeah, I mean, I was going to, if that's okay."

"I'd rather spend time with you than either of these two, to be honest," Washington replies.

Alex releases Daya and she hurries after her girlfriend, linking arms with her. "You don't mean that baby," she starts, then leans closer and whispers something in Washington's ear that nobody else can hear, but which makes Washington giggle uncharacteristically and then put her arm around Daya.

Alex rolls her eyes good naturedly and walks beside Chapman toward the compound. "And just like that, all is well with the world again," she says, smiling. "You had a busy night?"

"Hellish," Piper replies, "just bounced from one job to the next with no time to even catch our breath. It must be a full moon."

Alex stops in her tracks, looking at Piper.

"What?"

"What did you say?"

"I said it's been horrendously busy tonight. It must be a full moon."

Alex smiles slowly then resumes walking again. "Hey, Washington!" she shouts. "Wait up. Where are we going for breakfast?"

.

* * *

.

Alex spends much of Wednesday finishing off the things she'd started after grabbing some sleep on Tuesday. Laundry and grocery shopping were complete and she finds herself in Red's diner mid-afternoon following a gym session two blocks away, nursing a coffee and reading a book, killing a couple of hours until Nicky gets off work.

They had planned to have lunch the following day, but then Alex got word that it was Mikey's funeral at 11:30 and she wanted to pay her respects, so she'd texted her friend and rearranged. They were meant to be meeting at five today, and Alex really wasn't motivated enough to return home after the gym only to come all the way back to Chelsea again to meet Nicky, so she was here already in their usual booth, and had settled in for the wait.

"Alex?"

She looks up on hearing her name, and straight into the eyes of Piper Chapman.

"Piper, hey!"

"I thought it was you when I passed a half hour ago, I'm just heading home again and saw you were still here, so thought I should say hi."

"Hi," Alex smiles, then rises slightly from her seat, gesturing at the space opposite. "Please, sit."

"You sure? I'm not intruding?"

"Not at all," Alex replies closing her book and placing it on the table. "You'd actually be doing me a favour. The book is terrible and I'm only persevering with it because I'm trying to kill some time. Please, join me."

Piper smiles and slides into the booth opposite Alex.

From the counter, Red watches and raises an eyebrow, then stops a waitress from approaching. "Give them a minute," she says quietly, then goes back to watching.

"So why're you killing time, and why here in Chelsea of all places? I thought you liked the peace and quiet on the other side of the river."

"I do, but I use a gym a couple of blocks from here," Alex begins "and I'm meant to be meeting a friend later, so didn't want to travel home just to come back again."

"Which gym?"

"Titan, on 25th. You know it?"

Piper shakes her head. "I don't think so."

Alex says something about her personal trainer and the gym's focus, but Piper doesn't hear it. Her mind has drifted immediately back to thoughts of Alex in her thin t-shirt. _That explains those shoulders_, she thinks.

Piper zones back in just in time to catch the end of a question. "…do you go?"

"Me? To the gym?" Piper asks.

Alex nods and takes a sip of her coffee.

"No, no that's not my thing. I tried it when I first moved to the city, but it was full of toned fit people in super-tight sportswear. Not really my thing."

"Really? Sounds like you'd fit right in," Alex smiles.

Piper laughs softly, a soft blush colouring her cheeks. "Yeah no. It just makes me uncomfortable. It's too competitive for me, too many women trying to prove they're thinner and fitter and can wear tighter or shorter clothing than each other."

"I'm not sure if you're describing my idea of heaven, or my idea of hell to be honest," Alex grins.

Red, seemingly satisfied with the smiles from both parties in the booth, finally allows the waitress to approach. She refills Alex's coffee and asks if Piper would like to order. She orders a herbal tea, and accepts the laughter that comes from Alex as a result.

"Blueberry hibiscus?" Alex asks, as the waitress leaves.

"Well I do like a tea that can make me sigh," Piper grins.

"I like a _woman_ who can do that, but you stick with your tea Pipes, whatever works."

The casual and familiar way in which Alex shortens Piper's name isn't lost on either of them, but neither draws attention to it. Instead Piper meets Alex's challenge.

"I'll bet you do, but you're the one who advocates for oysters, so something tells me you haven't found her yet!"

Alex smiles broadly, secretly delighted that Piper didn't back down. "Touché, Piper Chapman. Touché."

Piper grins and looks away, inadvertently catching Red's eye as she does so. Their eyes meet and Red folds her arms beneath her bosom, before nodding slowly and turning away. Piper frowns very briefly, then looks back at Alex.

"What time are you meeting your friend?" Piper asks. "I don't want to intrude."

Alex checks her watch, "Five," she replies, "but honestly if she's on time I might need you to stick around to deal with the heart attack I'll have."

"I have a friend just like that. If we need to be anywhere at a certain time, I always tell her to meet me a full half hour earlier. That way when she's her usual thirty minutes late, we'll still actually be on time."

"I like that. I should try that with Nicky. It'd save me having to kill her."

Piper grins, then looks up and thanks the waitress as her tea is placed on the table before her.

"But enough about Nicky, tell me about you. What're you doing in this part of Chelsea?"

"I had an appointment at the DMV this afternoon. Nothing exciting, but as it's such a beautiful day I decided to walk. I never tire of walking in this city. There's always something new to see and discover."

Alex chuckles. "Yeah, best places to score dope, best spots to get hit on, best places to drink until you pass out…"

Piper tilts her head slightly. "Are you always this cynical?"

"Don't confuse cynicism with realism, kid. I've been pounding these streets for long enough now that I've come to realise that the streets aren't exactly paved with gold. Or at least, not for the many, just for the few."

"That's a little sad," Piper replies.

"But true." Alex shrugs her shoulders. "I love this city, I was born and raised here, it's the best city in the world."

"But…"

"But it has its problems, like any city does I guess, and I sometimes feel like I get to see every single one of them."

There's a moment of silence, then Alex forces a smile. "Sorry. Not sure where that came from."

Piper smiles slightly. "Please don't apologise. I get it. I see that side of it too, I just try not to think about it too hard."

"Me too, most of the time. Just some days are harder than others, you know?"

"And today is one of those days?"

"Seems that way. Sorry."

Piper tries for levity. "I told you not to apologise. Anyway, you can't have one of those days on your second rest day, you're doing it wrong. Rest days are the best days, remember!"

Alex smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes.

Piper sips her tea, then places the cup back on the table before her. She wraps both hands around it then leans in slightly.

"Alex?" Her voice is soft, quieter. "What's going on?"

Alex looks at Piper, studying her for a moment, then makes a decision.

"It's Mikey's funeral tomorrow. You remember the kid from-"

"I remember," Piper interjects.

"Well it's tomorrow morning. That's what's going on."

Piper nods slowly. "Are you going?"

"I have to. I just… I can't… I have to."

Piper remains silent for a moment, then reaches across the table and places her hand on Alex's wrist. She squeezes gently, then leaves her hand there. They sit this way for several long seconds, neither speaking, Alex looking out of the diner window and Piper looking at her hand on Alex's wrist.

After a few seconds, Alex takes a deep breath and sits up straighter. Piper places her hand back on her cup of tea and sits back in her seat again.

Alex nods her head once, then shrugs her shoulders. "Sorr-"

"Don't."

Alex smiles a little and nods her head again. "Okay."

Alex turns her coffee mug around and around on the table in front of her, watching the mug as it completes the slow rotations.

Piper clears her throat quietly. "Where is it? The funeral."

"Saint Joe's on West 125th."

"What time?"

"Eleven-thirty," Alex replies.

"Meet you outside at eleven-twenty?"

Alex looks up quickly and across at Piper. Her immediate instinct is to protest, to decline the offer, to say that isn't necessary and she's really okay, nothing to worry about, it's all good. She hesitates, just for a moment, and a moment is all it takes.

"That'd be good, Piper. Yeah."

Surprise, then relief, then a smile all wash across Piper's face in the space of a second and a half. She reaches across the table again and squeezes Alex's wrist once more, offering a small, grateful smile.

Before either of the women can speak again, they're interrupted by the clattering of two plates and a handful of cutlery as they land heavily on the table. They break apart, Piper withdrawing her hand quickly.

She looks up, startled, and meets Red's eye for the second time.

"Eat," she says, pointing at the plates which are laden with pancakes. "She like the bacon with the extra maple syrup," she continues, looking at Piper as she pushes a plate of pancakes towards Alex.

"You," her lips purse as she appraises Piper quickly, "strawberry with the blueberry. Wholemeal."

She pushes a plate towards Piper. "Eat, Blondie. When the stomach is full, the heart is glad. Eat."

Piper watches wide-eyed as Red turns and walks away.

Alex chuckles quietly and picks up her cutlery. "Hope you're hungry… _Blondie_."

"I'm terrified," Piper replies. "Genuinely scared for my life."

Alex grins and passes a knife and fork across the table. "She likes you. I know she has a weird way of showing it, but she likes you."

Alex opens a menu and slides it across the table to Piper. "You see strawberry and blueberry wholemeal pancakes on this menu?"

Piper's eyes scan the menu, then a frown creases her brow as she looks again more closely, slowly realising that the pancakes aren't listed.

"What… I…"

"She likes you," Alex says quietly. "She shows it through food. She made them especially for you."

Piper picks up her cutlery and glances quickly over to the counter, but sees no sign of Red. She leans forward over the table and whispers conspiratorially "Strawberry and blueberry wholemeal pancakes are my absolute favourite!"

Alex smiles widely. "She knows, Pipes. That's why you have them."

.

* * *

.

Alex steps out of the Uber and tugs on the bottom of the jacket of her dress uniform, straightening it. She tucks her hat under her arm, then turns and walks towards the firehouse where she'd arranged to meet Piper, literally a minute's walk from the church.

The home of Engine 37/Ladder 40 is situated on MLK Boulevard, just around the corner from the church, and Piper steps out of the wide doorway as she sees Alex approach. She has foregone her own dress uniform in favour of a plain black dress and a long grey wool coat.

"Hey," she greets Alex. "How're you doing?"

Alex forces a smile as she places her hat on her head and straightens it. "I'll be better in an hour. Shall we…?"

Piper nods and falls into step beside Alex as they make their way towards the church. The sky is grey, the clouds heavy with autumn rain, which Alex thinks is apt somehow.

"The weather seems appropriate for a funeral," Piper says, looking up at the sky.

Alex frowns slightly, then nods her agreement. This isn't the first time Piper has vocalised her own thoughts. "I was just thinking that," Alex responds, then shakes her head, dismissing the coincidence.

"You look really tall in that uniform," Piper says a few moments later, glancing sideways at Alex.

"I'm just really tall," Alex replies.

"Oh, did I say tall? I meant hot." Piper grins.

Alex looks at her in surprise, but can't help smiling.

Piper leans in and bumps her shoulder against Alex's. "I knew I could get a smile out of you," she says. "Come on, let's do this."

They climb the steps to the church just as the hearse pulls into the kerb behind them, and take their places in a pew two rows from the back.

The service is long and emotional, with tributes paid to Mikey by his younger brother, a social worker from the Youth Project where Mikey volunteered, and the priest. The priest eulogises about the path the young man was taking, referencing him reaching a fork in the road and after a few false starts ultimately choosing the path that God directed him down, a path that led him to help others to make positive choices and turn their own lives around.

Alex's jaw tightens, but she otherwise doesn't react. Piper's fingers deliberately brush the back of Alex's hand, then her fingers curl around Alex's and squeeze briefly.

Piper is aware that Mikey wasn't directed down his path by some higher power, but was guided there by Officer Vause, whose intervention and persistence steered the young man away from the negative influences that were trying to derail him.

Alex leaves her hand in Piper's, finding comfort in the contact, until the congregation stands again a few minutes later and begins to filter out of the church, the service over.

The service is to be followed by a smaller ceremony and burial at Trinity Cemetery, but for Alex and Piper the funeral ends here. The burial is for family members only and Alex is grateful for this. The finality of seeing Mikey's coffin lowered into the ground is something she really doesn't want to witness.

They watch the congregation filter slowly out of the church and join the back of the line as it passes their row. The line moves slowly, each member of the congregation passing Mikey's mother and brother on the steps outside the church, quietly offering their condolences.

When finally Alex reaches Mikey's mother, she removes her hat and offers a small smile. "Hi Marcella," she starts, holding her hand out to shake her hand, but immediately finds herself enveloped in a tight hug instead.

"Officer Vause," the older woman murmurs, "thank you. Thank you."

"I had to come," Alex replies as the woman releases her hold. "I'm so sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Marcella replies, squeezing Alex's hand tightly in both of her own. "Are you coming to the cemetery?"

"No ma'am, I believe it's for family only."

Mikey's mother tuts and rolls her eyes. "You're more family than some of the blood here today, you certainly treated my boy better."

Alex smiles a little. "Still," she says, "I think it's better I don't. We, uh…" she looks toward Piper helplessly and trails off.

"We have to work," the white lie rolls smoothly off Piper's tongue. "Late shift, I'm afraid."

Alex conveys her thanks to Piper with her eyes and Marcella turns toward Piper. "Of course, of course. I'm sorry, I don't think we've…?"

Alex remembers her manners and speaks up. "Marcella, this is Paramedic Chapman. We were working together the night that…" she pauses, then finishes quietly "that night."

"You were with him?" Marcella asks, her eyes on Piper.

"Yes ma'am. We both were."

Marcella nods, then swallows around a lump in her throat.

"I'm sorry we couldn't…" Piper begins quietly, but she's cut off by Marcella shaking her head.

"I got to say goodbye to my boy because of you," she says. "Please don't apologise. I know what you did. I know what you both did."

Piper nods. "I'm sorry for your loss."

"Thank you," Marcella replies, then steps forward and hugs Piper. "For everything," she murmurs close to her ear.

She releases Piper and steps back, then look up at Alex once again. "You'll visit, yes?"

"Yes ma'am. Of course."

"You better. Don't be a stranger, okay?"

"No ma'am. I promise I'll check in soon."

"Thank you for coming, both of you. It means a lot."

Alex moves in and hugs the older woman again, then steps away and looks at Tobias, Mikey's younger brother. "You take care of your mama, Tobe."

The young man puts an arm around his mother's shoulders and nods his acknowledgment. "Yessir. I mean ma'am."

Alex smiles and she and Piper say their last goodbyes, then turn and walk back in the direction of the firehouse.

They walk in silence until they round the corner on to MLK Boulevard, where Alex lets out a heavy sigh.

"You okay?" Piper asks, looking across at her.

"I need a drink. A large one."

Piper pulls her car keys out of the pocket of her wool coat and presses the button to unlock her car, parked by the kerb outside the firehouse.

"I'll buy the first round," she says, walking towards her car. "Get in."

Alex smiles and does just that.


	5. Chapter 5

**AN: I should start with an apology and a thank you. An apology for the delay in getting this chapter to you - you wouldn't even believe me if I started to explain what's been going on to cause the delay - and a thank you for sticking with it. A thank you for your endless patience, your comments and your PMs. I appreciate all of your kind words more than you realise.**

**Without further ado...**

**.**

* * *

They walk in silence until they round the corner on to MLK Boulevard, where Alex lets out a heavy sigh.

"You okay?" Piper asks, looking across at her.

"I need a drink. A large one."

Piper pulls her car keys out of the pocket of her wool coat and presses the button to unlock her car, parked by the kerb outside the firehouse.

"I'll buy the first round," she says, walking towards her car. "Get in."

Alex smiles and does just that.

.

* * *

.

Piper waits in her car in Alex's driveway as Alex changes from her dress uniform into civvies in under five minutes. When she emerges from her house, she's wearing a pair of black jeans and a deep blue crew-necked sweater over a white button down shirt. A pair of well-worn black Dr Martens and a battered black leather jacket complete the look. Her hair is falling loose over her shoulders and the contacts she usually wears have been replaced by a pair of dark-framed glasses.

Piper watches her approach the car and swears quietly at the sight of Alex. But fixes her face into a neutral expression by the time Alex sides into the passenger seat beside her.

"Damn, no more sexy uniform?" Piper says by way of greeting.

Alex smiles. "You're not allowed a uniform fetish when you wear one yourself you know."

"Of course I am," Piper replies as she slowly backs the car out of the driveway. "Why do you think I chose this line of work?"

Alex laughs quietly. "I'd have thought it was to help people, make a difference, all of that. But what you're telling me is you do it because you get off on being around people in uniform."

"A girl's gotta do what a girl's gotta do," Piper grins.

Piper turns the car out of Alex's street and on to Fort Lee Road, heading back towards the city.

"You could've come in, you know," Alex says, settling back into her seat. "You didn't have to wait in the car."

"Yeah, I know," Piper replies. "But I needed to call my mom, and anyway, if I'd have come inside Vincent would undoubtedly have charmed me again and then I wouldn't have been able to leave."

"He does seem to have that effect on people," Alex smiles. "I don't know how he does it. He's a little shit really."

Before Piper can reply, Alex's phone sounds in her pocket and she pulls it out, unlocking the screen and reading the text message that's just arrived.

"Nicky," Alex explains. "Checking how I am after the funeral."

"Ah."

"In her own inimitable way," she continues, then reads the message aloud. "_Yo Stretch_. _All good?_ _Not thrown yourself in the grave with the kid have you?"_

Piper laughs out loud and Alex smiles. "She has a way with words."

"Yeah she does," Piper agrees. "I like her already."

"She's good people. She's genuinely concerned about me, hence the message, but can't let that show so she has to ask in this way. She's an asshole."

"But an asshole who loves you, clearly."

"Yeah," Alex replies quietly, eyes fixed on her phone's screen as she taps out a reply. "Yeah you might be right."

"What're you telling her?" Piper asks, glancing across at Alex's phone.

"That I'm fine, still above ground, and have a date with a bottle of bourbon and a hot paramedic to take my mind off it."

Piper grins, "Oooh cool, hot paramedic! Where are we meeting them?"

Alex chuckles and slides her phone back into her pocket. "Funny, Chapman. Where are you taking me anyway?"

Piper takes the exit from the GW Bridge onto the parkway and they head south. "We're gonna dump the car at my apartment and head into the Village. Have you eaten today?"

"No," Alex admits. "Felt a little too nauseous first thing."

"Lunch, then bourbon. Or lunch _and_ bourbon if you prefer. Either way, you need food and I know the perfect place."

.

* * *

.

Thirty minutes later, Piper's car is back in the parking garage close to her apartment and they walk three blocks to an unmarked storefront on Perry.

Piper steps up to the door and pulls it open, looking back at Alex. "Welcome to the Village's best kept secret," she smiles, gesturing for Alex to enter ahead of her.

Alex crosses the threshold into a large, open room. The décor is sparse, all exposed brick and steel. One wall is lined with a long oak-topped bar and the rest of the space is dotted with low tables and comfortable-looking leather chairs and couches. There are maybe twenty patrons in a room that could easily hold a couple of hundred, there is music playing quietly and the vibe is relaxed and mellow.

Alex looks around, then turns back to Piper who smiles and touches her elbow, pulling her gently as she passes and moves to a large well-worn oxblood leather Chesterfield sofa and two chairs arranged around a small table toward the back of the room. Piper drops her bag on one of the chairs and starts to unbutton her coat.

Alex shrugs out of her jacket and lays it over the arm of the sofa, then looks around the room again before sitting in the couch, back against the wall, where she has a view of the entire room before her.

"Such a cop," Piper smiles.

"Huh?"

"Back to the wall, view of the room, always see what's coming, know that nobody's creeping up behind you."

Alex smiles slightly and shrugs. "Busted."

"Such a cop," Piper repeats. She takes a menu from an adjoining table and passes it to Alex. "Choose some food," she says, then reaches into her bag for her wallet. "I'll get us some drinks. What's your poison? Bourbon?"

"Old Fashioned," Alex replies. "Thank you."

Piper makes her way through the tables to the bar, leaving Alex to peruse the menu. When she returns a few minutes later, she's carrying a tray with four drinks. Two glasses of bourbon and two bottles of Belgian beer.

"I can't drink bourbon," she explains as she slides the tray onto the table. "It gives me the _worst_ hangovers. I'll stick with the Leffe and pace myself."

She passes Alex her Old Fashioned. "You're in luck though they have a whole menu of bourbon based drinks. You can work your way through the list."

Alex takes her drink and looks back at the tray. "Four drinks though?"

"Well yeah," Piper says as she sits on the armchair adjacent to the couch. "Because these first two are for Mikey."

Alex looks a little surprised. "For Mikey?"

"I'm allocating our first round of drinks to him," Piper explains. "You have the time it takes to drink that Old Fashioned to reflect on him and his life, to toast his memory."

Alex nods her understanding and Piper continues gently, "But then we leave him behind, Alex. The rest of the day is ours, not his. Okay?"

Alex looks at Piper, really looks at her. She's leaning forward in her seat, her face earnest. Her blue eyes are serious. She tucks a stray lock of hair behind her ear and tilts her head to the left slightly.

"Okay," Alex murmurs. "You have yourself a deal, Piper Chapman."

Piper smiles slightly and leans further forward in her seat, holding her beer out. Alex looks at the glass in her hand for a moment, then touches it to Piper's bottle. "To Mikey," she says quietly.

"To Mikey," Piper repeats.

Both women take a sip of their respective drinks, then lean back in their seats.

"Do you want to tell me about him?" Piper asks.

Alex takes a deep breath, in through her nose and slowly out through her mouth. "Not really," she smiles. "I don't know that there's much to say, really. He was just a kid headed down the wrong path when I first met him, I just helped show him a different route."

Alex shrugs, then takes another sip of her drink. "He was doing well. He was in Community College and volunteered two days a week at the Youth Project. He wanted to be a cop, bizarrely."

"Who could be so foolish, right?" Piper smiles.

"Right? I tried to talk him out of it, but…" Alex chuckles.

She studies her glass for a moment, then continues. "He was getting his college credits. He'd already passed the entrance exam, his GPA was up there, he just needed the credits and he was in."

"I thought you were meant to be _improvin_g his life, though…" Piper grins.

Alex laughs quietly. "I know. I shoulda left him to the misdemeanours and the weed, right?"

"Oh I don't know, there are worse careers than joining the NYPD, I'm pretty sure."

"Well it was this or the military," Alex explains. "Or, you know, prison."

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure prison wasn't an appealing option."

"Neither was the military, really. His mom was dead set against it. Didn't want her boy getting shot to death in some far away land she couldn't point to on a map."

Alex pauses and swirls her drink around the ice in her glass.

"So instead it happened practically on her doorstep. I'm not sure if that's ironic, or just really fucking sad."

Piper chooses to remain quiet, and takes a sip of her beer.

"He intervened in a fight, you know." Alex says a few moments later. "It wasn't even his fight. Two guys got into it in the street and he was on his way home when it happened."

"I didn't know that," Piper replies.

"Yep. Literally an innocent victim. Tried to break it up, ended up taking a bullet for his trouble."

"That's shocking," Piper starts, then adds "and really fucking sad."

Repeating Alex's words earns her a wry smile. "Truth."

Alex looks up as a waiter approaches who greets them with a smile. "Ladies, your nachos."

He places a large plate of nachos on the table, along with some napkins and cutlery. "Can I get you anything else?"

"Uh, we didn't-" Alex begins, before Piper cuts in.

"No, thank you. That's great." She flashes a winning smile at the waiter, who returns the same.

"More drinks?"

"No, we're good for now. Thanks though."

"Well I'll be right over there if you need me." He pauses, then adds with a smile and a wink, "Anything at all."

Piper smiles again and the waiter holds her gaze for a moment before turning and heading back in the direction of the bar.

"Wow," Alex declares quietly as the waiter retreats. "That's some skill, Chapman."

"Hmm?"

"You managed to completely captivate him with just a smile. How'd you do that?"

Piper laughs. "I did not! He was just being polite."

"Polite my ass. I'll bet you twenty bucks that when we ask for the bill, it'll have his phone number written on it."

Piper rolls her eyes and scoots to the edge of her seat. "There'll be no bill, he's swiped my card. And anyway, there's only one number I'm interested in getting tonight, and it isn't his."

She leans forward and takes a nacho, loading it with beef and beans.

"Dig in," she continues. "I ordered these when I got the drinks. You can't be drinking bourbon on an empty stomach."

Alex lets the comment about the phone number pass. For now.

She helps herself to a nacho. "Good call. I still can't decide what to choose from the menu anyway."

"Yeah, I figured that nachos would fill the hole that a lack of appetite brings. It's good food when you're not feeling hungry. I mean, who doesn't like nachos?"

Alex watches as Piper loads another chip with pico de gallo, sour cream and a slice of jalapeño. She waits as Piper lifts the chip from the plate and raises it toward her mouth, then says "I hope you're not expecting me to kiss you later after eating that jalapeño."

Piper stops, the nacho just about in her mouth. She slowly reverses the movement of her hand, withdrawing the chip again, then coolly uses her index finger to flick the thick slice of jalapeño from her nacho and back onto the plate.

Her eyes meet Alex's as she pops the chip into her mouth and bites down on it with a decisive crunch.

Alex can't help laughing, her head tilting back as she does. Piper grins and lifts both of her eyebrows briefly.

"I like you, Piper Chapman," Alex says with a smile as she reaches for her drink again. "You never back down from a challenge. I like that about you."

Piper smiles and shrugs one shoulder. "Depends on what the challenge is, and what could potentially be gained from it."

She drains her beer and reaches for her second bottle as Alex places her empty glass on the table. "A new toast?"

Alex lifts her new glass of bourbon and pauses in thought before raising it towards her companion.

"To jalapeño free nachos," she says with a grin, "and whatever that may bring."

Piper smiles widely and touches her bottle to Alex's glass. "And whatever that may bring."

.

* * *

.

Four hours and six bourbons later, the afternoon is beginning to drift into early evening and the bar is becoming busier as office workers stop off for a drink at the end of their working day.

Alex is feeling a little buzzed, the effects of the alcohol softening the sharp edges of the day wonderfully. Not so much that she's losing touch with rationality, but enough to make her relax and put Mikey and the funeral far enough towards the back of her mind that she can enjoy her time with Piper.

Piper, who a couple of drinks ago had abandoned the armchair and moved onto the couch beside her. Alex had an arm outstretched along the back of the Chesterfield and Piper had half-turned towards her. The conversation flowed naturally and Alex felt comfortable in Piper's company. Piper turned out to be really quite tactile, placing a hand on Alex's forearm when emphasising a point or touching her elbow when talking, using touch as a form of communication all of its own. Alex, she of the fist bump and the aversion to hugging, found that for once, she really didn't mind.

"Are you ready for something more substantial to eat than nachos?" Piper asks, "Or are you surviving on a diet of bourbon and orange peel today?"

Alex smiles and lifts her drink, swirling the mellow liquid around the ice and the peel inside her glass. She takes another sip, then wets her lips. "I could eat," she replies. "I can't remember what's on the menu any more, but I could eat."

Piper grins and reaches for the menu, passing it to Alex, then stands and grabs her purse. "I'm going to the bathroom, choose what you want to eat and I'll order when I come back."

"Yes ma'am," Alex replies, turning her attention to the menu.

Piper walks away and as soon as her back is turned, Alex's attention shifts from the menu to her retreating form. She finds herself smiling as she watches the other woman walk toward the bar and the bathrooms beyond, eyes drifting to the shapely ass moving away from her.

She looks back at the menu when Piper disappears out of sight, then immediately her attention is diverted again as a group of rowdy men burst through the door of the bar. There are eight of them, loud and rambunctious, jostling each other and laughing loudly.

Alex observes them, her cop-brain switching back on despite the alcohol she's imbibed, as she completes a dynamic risk assessment on their impact on the bar, the other patrons, and each other. They're noisy, but their interactions appear good natured and as she watches, one of them approaches the bar and orders eight beers and eight tequila chasers. This provokes a whoop of celebration from the other members of their group and Alex lets out a soft sigh.

She reaches for her drink again, taking a sip and silently mourning the loss of their quiet afternoon as she looks once more at the menu.

The silence, when it comes, is sudden and deafening and it instantly catches her attention. She looks up from the menu and back over at the group of men, wondering what has curtailed their noisy banter and caused the silence that now sits heavily in the bar.

Four of them are standing in a haphazard semi-circle, their backs to Alex. The other four are crowding around, but only one is speaking. Alex can't hear his words, but when the other seven laugh there's a brief shift in their positions and Alex is sure she catches sight of… no, it can't be…

The atmosphere in the bar has changed significantly, there's a tension in the air that wasn't there five minutes ago. Alex frowns and sits forward in her seat, her attention fully on the scene across the room. One person is speaking again, then another chips in and the group of men crowd closer.

Alex stands, her senses heightened, and looks across at the group. She sees the men crowd in, their laughter coming in short bursts now, clearly in response to the words spoken by their "leader", but there's no humour in their laughter. She watches as they all shift almost imperceptibly to the left, and in the split second before they do, she sees Piper take a step to the right as if to walk around them.

Alex straightens, and she focuses on Piper. The other woman's body language is tense, she's drawn herself up to her full height and squared her shoulders. She speaks briefly to the tall guy who's doing all the talking, but doesn't make eye contact with him. She takes another step to her right, and the group move to their left again, blocking her path.

A frown crosses Alex's face and she moves from behind the table and studies the scene on the other side of the bar, before taking a couple of steps in that direction. She isn't sure what's happening, but whatever it is, she has a sense that it isn't good.

Before she can take more than two steps, Piper manages to push her way past the group, and the dark-haired guy blocking her path, their shoulders colliding heavily as she pushes through. She approaches their seats with her eyes fixed firmly on the floor. Her face is flushed and her body language still filled with tension.

Alex takes another step towards her as she gets closer, the frown still painting her face. "Piper? What-"

"We have to go," Piper cuts her off, walking around her and picking up her coat.

"Wait, what? What's going on?"

"Alex," Piper looks her in the eye, a pleading expression on her flushed face. "Please."

"What the actual fuck?" Alex blurts, taken aback by the tears that are brimming Piper's eyes.

She turns and looks back over towards the group of men, and takes two purposeful and angry strides in their direction, determined to find out what's going on and what has caused Piper's obvious distress.

Piper grabs her arm, stopping her, alarm evident on her face. "No!" Then quieter, almost imploring "Please. Let's just go."

Alex looks at Piper, at the group of men, then back at Piper again.

"I'm not happy about this," Alex says, but returns to the couch and picks up her jacket. "Not at all. But okay. If you're sure."

Piper visibly relaxes as Alex shrugs into her jacket, the cop's eyes never leaving the group of men who are talking quietly together now but looking in their direction.

Piper waits, her back deliberately turned to the group, then keeps her eyes turned to the floor as she moves toward the exit, Alex close behind.

Somebody in the group says something and the rest of the men burst into raucous laughter, causing Alex to pause and turn toward them for a moment, before Piper takes her hand and pulls gently, tugging her out of the door.

They spill out onto the street and Piper turns left, hurrying away with Alex in tow. They've walked a block and a half in silence, Alex having to lengthen her stride to keep up with Piper's pace before they have to stop at a crosswalk and Alex finally speaks.

"Okay. Enough," she says, squeezing the hand that's still holding her own. "What the fuck just happened?"

Piper shakes her head in response, her eyes fixed on the light that'll give her permission to cross the road. She is chewing the inside of her lip as she waits and her brow is furrowed.

The light changes and Piper takes a couple of steps forward to cross, but is stopped by Alex's lack of motion as she remains on the sidewalk.

Piper looks back, confused for a moment, until she sees the look on Alex's face.

"I said, _enough_." Alex says, her voice quiet but firm and her hand still tightly holding Piper's. "You need to tell me what's going on, before I walk back there and arrest those assholes for ruining my fucking day."

Piper looks at Alex for a second, then up and down the street as if considering her options. Alex squeezes her hand gently and Piper nods her head slowly.

"Okay," she murmurs as she releases her bottom lip. "Okay."

"Okay," Alex repeats.

Alex looks around, then steps up to the kerb. She raises her arm and waves, then looks back at Piper as a yellow cab pulls to a halt beside them. Alex opens the rear door and waits for Piper to slide in, before getting in alongside her. She sits back in her seat and gives the driver a familiar address on West 23rd Street, then laces her fingers with Piper's again as the cab pulls out into the traffic.

.

* * *

.

Twenty-five minutes later they're seated in a booth in a quiet corner of Red's diner. Alex has a plate of steak and eggs in front of her, and Piper is working her way through a deluxe cheeseburger. The bourbon and beer has been replaced by two glasses of soda, and there's more eating than talking taking place.

Eventually their plates are cleared and the sodas finished. Alex signals for two cups of coffee, then leans back in her seat when they arrive, cradling her cup in two hands against her chest.

"You okay?" she asks, watching Piper as she looks blankly out of the window at the passing pedestrians.

Piper takes a sip of her coffee and nods her head, still looking through the window.

"Mendez," she says softly, not looking at Alex. "George Mendez. That's his name."

Alex watches the other woman over the rim of her coffee cup, but remains quiet.

"He's a shift supervisor over at the house."

"Your house?"

"Yeah. Station Sixteen."

Alex nods, and waits for more information. Piper looks at Alex briefly, then her gaze drifts out of the window again.

"And the others?" Alex prompts.

"Sixteen," Piper replies, her voice so quiet Alex has to lean in a little to hear her.

Alex wants to ask questions, but she grips her cup tighter and wills herself to remain silent. A few seconds pass before Piper speaks again, her eyes still fixed on the passing foot traffic outside.

"They're all Station Sixteen, but not my shift." There's a pause, then Piper adds "Well, not anymore."

"Your old shift?" Alex asks after a few seconds of silence.

Piper nods, then takes a sip of coffee before placing the cup on the table in front of her.

Alex lets out a long slow breath and leans forward, her forearms resting on the surface of the table, holding her cup between her hands.

She watches Piper's hands as they toy with her own coffee cup, turning it around on the table, then tapping the porcelain with her short fingernails, her anxiety playing itself out through the movement of her hands. When finally she stills, placing her hands palm down on the table either side of her cup, Alex reaches out with her left hand and covers Piper's right.

Piper raises her head and looks across at the other woman.

"It's okay," Alex starts, her voice soft. "You don't have to tell me, I don't need the details. Whenever you're ready is good."

Piper wets her bottom lip, looking at Alex's hand atop her own, and nods once.

"I just want to be sure you're okay, okay? I mean from before. In the bar. Are you… I mean, did they…"

Piper shakes her head quickly, and meets Alex's eye. "I'm okay. They just… said… _things_. They were trying to intimidate me, they use their words as weapons. Well, _he_ does. The rest are just too chickenshit to do anything but follow their leader."

Alex strokes her thumb over the back of Piper's hand, but remains quiet.

"It's the first time I've seen them, any of them, since my transfer and honestly, that was the_ last_ place I'd ever have expected to see them. It was a shock is all."

Both women are quiet for a few moments, then Piper continues. "The last few months of my time with them were rough. When I was waiting for my transfer I mean. They made my life a living hell and I used to genuinely dread going in to work. Then I got my transfer and it's been awesome. I love my job again. I don't have that stress and bullshit to deal with every day."

Alex nods, and offers a small smile.

"And you get to work with me now, don't forget that part."

Alex watches as a genuine smile spreads across Piper's face. "How could I forget that part? It's a particular highlight."

Alex releases PIper's hand and takes another mouthful of coffee.

"I know we don't officially work together," Alex offers, "but I'm pretty happy you're on the same shift as me and Washington now. You and Daya work well together, that's obvious, and you're pretty damn incredible at your job. It's kinda nice knowing that we have such a good team running alongside us, you know?"

Piper smiles again, a little shyly this time. "Right back atcha, Officer Vause."

Piper drains her coffee and places her cup back on the table, resting her hand on the tabletop alongside it. Alex looks at her hand, this time palm up, and reaches out towards the other woman.

She looks Piper in the eye as she very gently drags her fingertips over her open palm.

"I've got your back, Pipes, you know that, right? Whether it's out there on a job, or it's in a bar in the Village with a group of opportunistic assholes who should learn to keep their mouths closed. I've got you, okay?"

Piper curls her fingers around Alex's and locks her hand in place as she rubs her thumb slowly across the other woman's knuckles.

"I do know that. And I'm so grateful for it."

.

* * *

.

An hour later, the pair are walking through the now darkened streets heading away from Chelsea and back towards the Village.

They're strolling, neither woman in a hurry, talking quietly as they walk. They're holding hands, Alex's left wrapped around Piper's right, and Piper's left arm is reaching across her own body, her left hand holding onto the crook of Alex's elbow.

It takes them forty minutes to reach their destination, when at normal pace it would ordinarily only take fifteen to cover the same distance. Eventually Piper slows and looks up at the four storey brownstone they've stopped outside.

"This is me," she says, almost reluctantly.

Alex looks up at the building. "Wow. I didn't realise you were neighbours with Carrie Bradshaw."

Piper rolls her eyes. "Believe me, you should never judge a book by its cover. It's an impressive building, but the apartments are _tiny_. I'd much rather live in your house."

"You move fast. I haven't even met your parents!" Alex quips.

Piper laughs and bumps her head against Alex's shoulder. "You know I didn't mean it like that."

"I do," Alex admits, squeezing Piper's hand briefly.

Both women fall silent, and it's Piper who speaks next.

"Do you, um, would you like to come up?"

A small smile works it's way onto Alex's lips and she lets out a long breath before turning to face Piper, taking hold of her other hand.

"I, ah," she pauses and clears her throat before continuing, "I'd like that very much."

Before Piper can speak again, Alex continues "Which is why I absolutely have to decline."

She smiles a little at the look of confusion and - was that disappointment? - that crosses Piper's face, then says "I like you, Chapman. And I haven't forgotten that you passed on the jalapeños earlier today either…"

Piper grins. "The sacrifices I make."

"…and I want to thank you for today. It's been a rollercoaster from start to finish. Despite it starting with a funeral and having a little work drama in the middle of it, I've had an okay day. Better than okay. And I've enjoyed spending it with you."

Piper looks down at their joined hands. "Me too," she murmurs.

"And I'd like to do it again, if you're up for that."

Piper looks up at the other woman and smiles.

"Only maybe without the funeral and the work assholes next time," Alex adds.

"I'd like that very much," Piper says, struggling to keep the smile from taking over her face.

"Awesome. So, it's a date?"

"It is," Piper agrees, grinning.

Alex releases Piper's hands, and reaches for her coat. As Piper watches, Alex slips her hand into Piper's pocket and pulls out her cellphone.

"Unlock it," she instructs, holding the phone out to its owner. Piper does as she's told, a slight frown painting her features.

Alex taps at the screen a few times, then locks the phone again and slips it back into Piper's pocket.

"As you didn't get the bartender's number due to our hasty exit, I've given you mine instead. Didn't want today to be a complete washout for you."

Piper smiles and takes hold of Alex's hands again. "You know that's the one I wanted all along, don't you," she smiles.

"Ehhhh, I kinda suspected," Alex grins.

Piper leans forward, smiling shyly, and rests her forehead on the front of Alex's shoulder.

After a moment, Alex squeezes Piper's hands gently and takes a step away. She raises Piper's hands and very gently brushes her lips against the other woman's knuckles.

"Call me, Piper Chapman," she murmurs, then releases Piper's hands and walks away without a backwards glance.

.

* * *

.

Instead of taking a left at the end of Piper's street and heading to the subway, Alex takes a right. She walks with purpose and five blocks later, she takes another turn onto Perry.

A couple of minutes later, she pushes open the door of an unmarked storefront and steps inside the bar where she'd spent most of the afternoon.

She stops just inside the doorway, surveying the now busy establishment. Most of the tables are full and people are crowding around the bar. She remains in place just inside the threshold, her eyes scanning the patrons.

She can't see who she's searching for so moves further into the bar, weaving between tables as her eyes sweep the busy environment. She eventually finds herself at the end of the oak-topped bar and her eyes meet those of the bartender who'd paid Piper such close attention earlier in the day.

He does a double-take when he spots Alex, finishes serving the customer he's dealing with, then head towards her.

"Hey," he starts. "You were here earlier, right?"

"Right. We left in a hurry, I just wanted to make sure the bill was taken care of?"

"Yes ma'am, we swiped your friend's card shortly after you arrived. Would you like a copy of the bill?"

"No no, it's all good. As long as it's taken care of." Alex replies. Then, "There was a group of guys, eight of them. Loud, eight beers with tequila chasers…"

"I remember," the bartender replies, a sour expression on his face.

"They still here?"

"Nuh-uh, had two rounds of drinks then left not long after you did."

"Any idea where they were headed?"

"No ma'am. They didn't say."

"Do they come here regularly?"

The bartender frowns and studies Alex for a moment. "What's with all the questions?"

Alex sighs quietly, then pulls her wallet from the inside pocket of her leather jacket and flashes her badge at the bartender.

His eyebrows shoot up in surprise, but he quickly recovers. "No ma'am. I've never seen them here before. I work here five days out of seven, been here a little shy of two years now, and I've never seen any of 'em."

Alex nods thoughtfully, then reaches for a napkin. She takes a pen from the bartender's shirt pocket and scrawls her number on the napkin. She places the pen back in his pocket, then removes her wallet and places a hundred dollar bill on top of the napkin before folding it in and placing it too inside his shirt pocket.

"They come back, you call me, okay?"

"Okay," he replies. "Any of 'em?"

"Any of 'em," Alex replies. "But the tall guy with the seventies moustache? You see him again and call me straight away and I'll double what's in that napkin."

"Yes ma'am."

"We good?"

"We're good."

"Thanks, er…?"

"Ryan."

"Thanks Ryan. You take care now."

Ryan nods and pats his shirt pocket, watching as the tall female cop walks casually out of his bar.


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: By way of apology for the long wait for the last chapter, here's a 7k update within a week.  
This isn't going to be a regular occurrence, but it's a start, right? :)**

**Thank you for sticking with the story, and for the lovely reviews. Much appreciated.**

**Hope this chapter doesn't disappoint.**

**.**

* * *

Alex nods thoughtfully, then reaches for a napkin. She takes a pen from the bartender's shirt pocket and scrawls her number on the napkin. She places the pen back in his pocket, then removes her wallet and places a hundred dollar bill on top of the napkin before folding it in and placing it too inside his shirt pocket.

"They come back, you call me, okay?"

"Okay," he replies. "Any of 'em?"

"Any of 'em," Alex replies. "But the tall guy with the seventies moustache? You see him again and call me straight away and I'll double what's in that napkin."

"Yes ma'am."

"We good?"

"We're good."

"Thanks, er…?"

"Ryan."

"Thanks Ryan. You take care now."

Ryan nods and pats his shirt pocket, watching as the tall female cop walks casually out of his bar.

.

* * *

.

Alex is sitting on her back porch reading a book and drinking her second mug of coffee. Vincent is asleep on his back at her feet, stretched out and snoring softly.

It's a little after ten thirty, she's been up for an hour and plans to spend her last day off doing very little. Resting and recharging before returning to work tomorrow. She needs to get some groceries, but that'll wait until later. Right now she's enjoying the peace and quiet of her suburban home, and a good cup of coffee.

Her phone vibrates on the table beside her, and she places her open book face down on her knee as she reaches for it, smiling when she sees the text message on her screen from an unknown number.

Two words.

"Hot Cop?"

She unlocks her phone and smirks as she taps out a simple reply. "Yes?"

As she watches the screen, she sees three little dots indicating a response is being typed. She waits, eyes on the screen.

"Seriously? You saved your number in my phone as 'Hot Cop' instead of your name?"

Alex chuckles to herself and immediately replies, "I'm sorry, who is this?"

There's a pause before the three little dots appear for a few seconds. Then they go away. They reappear briefly, then vanish again.

Alex can perfectly picture the scene at the other end of this exchange, and the hesitation that's preventing another message from arriving. She smiles as she taps out another message.

"Kidding Pipes. :) "

This time the reply is immediate.

"Asshole."

Alex laughs out loud when she sees the message and quickly sends another. "You could save it as that if you prefer."

As she waits for another reply, Alex takes a moment to save Piper's number. She considers going with 'Hot Paramedic' but has a feeling that might backfire at some point in the future, so instead goes with a perfectly reasonable and boring 'Piper Chapman'. She'd never live it down if Piper ever called her and Washington saw _that_ pop up on the screen, even if it was done in jest.

Well, kind of jest.

Well, okay, no jest at all if she's honest.

"What're you doing on Sunday?"

Alex reads the message, but instead of replying she places her book on the table and stands. Vincent rolls away from her, grumbling his unhappiness at having to move, as Alex takes her mug back into the kitchen and taps her phone's screen, calling Piper's number.

She's pouring coffee into her mug when the call is answered.

"Nine-one-one, what's your emergency?"

"Funny, Chapman. You're funny."

Alex can hear the smile in Piper's voice as she replies "It was the best I could think of at such short notice."

"Most normal people just go with a 'hello' you know."

"I know, but normal is boring. I don't want to be normal."

"Well that's good, because as far as I can tell, you're far from it."

"You say the sweetest things."

Alex laughs softly and wanders back outside with her new cup of coffee. Vincent has relocated to the chair she was sitting in and she has to nudge him away with her foot before being able to sit down again.

"So, Sunday…"

"Yeah, Sunday. Are you busy?"

"I'm working on Sunday."

"Well, yeah, me too. But only until four, right?"

"Yeah, second early."

"I unexpectedly have a couple of court-side tickets for the Knicks on Sunday. It starts at seven-thirty."

Alex wasn't expecting this and takes a moment before she replies.

"Basketball?"

"Yep. The Celtics are passing through town. My brother was meant to be going, but his wife has gone into early labour today, so he can't make it."

"Okayyyyy…"

"Well, he probably _could_, but I think that might lead to a divorce pretty quickly, so…"

"I didn't know you had a brother," Alex says.

"Oh. Well yes, I have two."

"Huh."

"What?"

"Hmm? Oh, no, nothing. I just… I guess it kinda feels like I've known you a long time, but clearly there's lots I don't know about you. Like two brothers, for example."

"Ah. Yeah, two brothers, four sisters, three step-sisters, nine cats…"

"Wow, really?!"

Piper laughs quietly into the phone and Alex instantly knows she's been had. "No, not really. Just the two brothers."

"Mean, Chapman."

Piper grins. "Couldn't help myself, _Hot Cop_. So, Sunday? Want to catch the game?"

"Basketball sounds good. Let's do that."

"Great! Do you want to meet at The Garden at, say, seven?"

"Do you eat sushi?"

"Excuse me?"

"Sushi. It's a foodstuff, Japanese in origin. Typically it's rice and seaweed, often rolled around a variety of different ingredients. There are other types, but that one-"

"Okay smartass. I know what sushi is!"

Alex grins. "So do you eat it?"

"I do, yes."

"Great. Well how about you come over to the 26th when you finish work, and we'll head downtown when I finish and I'll buy you sushi before the game."

"Yeah?"

"Well I need to show you that I do actually eat at places other than Red's, so…"

Piper laughs quietly. "Sushi sounds good."

"Good. I'll find us somewhere to go and pray we don't get sent to a time-consuming job twenty minutes before my shift is due to end."

"That would be typical!"

"It really would."

"At least I finish thirty minutes before you do, so I have a little wriggle room if the same thing happens to me."

"True. Although you could just do a drive-by drop-off at the hospital, right? Open the back doors and push the gurney off without even slowing to a stop."

Piper laughs. "Oh, my life would be so much easier if that were a thing."

Alex smiles. "I'll see you Sunday, Chapman."

"You will. Bye, _Hot Cop_."

Alex is laughing as she hangs up the phone, and realises an hour later that she still has a smile on her face, thanks to Piper Chapman.

.

* * *

.

"So, did you get laid on your days off or what?"

Alex raises both of her eyebrows as she fastens her seatbelt and looks across at her partner. "Excuse me?"

"You're being super nice," Washington replies. "Like, excessively so."

Alex tuts and starts the patrol car. "Don't be ridiculous. I am not."

"You just let that jackass off with 'words of advice' after he swung a punch at you, Vause. I can't believe we're not giving him a ride to jail right now."

"He only swung it, he didn't actually hit me."

"Not the fuckin' point!"

Alex shrugs and checks over her shoulder before pulling away from the kerb. "If he'd have connected, I'd have locked him up. Maybe cutting him some slack is the break he needs today."

"Maybe cutting his alcohol use at eleven a.m. on a Saturday is the break he needs today."

"That too," Alex agrees as she joins the flow of traffic.

They drive thirty seconds in silence before Washington speaks again. "So, how _is_ Sylvie these days?"

Alex glances at her partner then looks back at the road. "I have no idea. Not that it's any of your business, but I haven't seen or spoken to her since before you last gave me shit about her over a week ago."

"I call bullshit."

"You can call whatever the fuck you like, Poussey, but it's the truth."

Washington inhales sharply. "Woah, first-naming me? That's some serious shit."

"Yeah, well. I am serious. I haven't seen her, don't intend to."

They drive the next two blocks in silence.

"You _did_ get laid though, right?"

Alex throws her hands up in exasperation and her partner laughs out loud. "There's gotta be a reason, Vause, I just don't buy this cutting-him-some-slack crap!"

"Fuck you."

"What, right now? Would that help?"

Alex rolls her eyes and shakes her head. "You wish."

Washington grins. "I just don't know why the secrecy! I tell you everything about my relationship."

"Yeah, you tell me wayyyyyyyy too much, if I'm honest!"

Washington laughs again. "You don't mean that. You live vicariously through my adventures with Daya."

"Your _adventures with D__aya_ are what remind me why I'm single and happy about it!"

"You don't mean that."

"I do. How did visiting her friend and the new baby go anyway?"

"She wants a baby now."

"Of course she does," Alex laughs.

"We drove all the way back from Albany with her giving me the silent treatment. She hasn't spoken to me since Thursday afternoon."

"You predicted this would happen. I don't know why you bothered going up there."

"And I don't know why you won't admit that you got laid, but here we are."

Alex lets out a long-suffering sigh. "Can we change the record? I didn't get laid, okay? I'm allowed to be in a good mood without it involving fucking."

"Of course you're _allowed_. I've just never seen it before."

"Well you've seen it now, so let's just…"

Alex doesn't finish her sentence, instead doing a double-take at a Foot Locker they just drove past.

Washington looks around quickly. "What? What?"

Alex takes an immediate right onto W145th and stops the car just around the corner. She pulls her tablet from the door pocket and scrolls quickly through the briefing notes from the start of shift.

"Him!" she says, pointing at a mugshot on the screen. "Buckley. I swear I've just seen him go into the Foot Locker around the corner."

Washington leans across and looks at the mugshot. "You sure?"

"Ninety-nine per cent."

Washington unbuckles her seatbelt. "Good enough for me," she says as she pushes open the car door and steps out onto the pavement.

Alex stows her tablet and follows, keying her radio as she does so. "Dispatch this is 26-Adam. We are 10-75Peter at the corner of Broadway and West 145 with a possible 10-10 and 10-18. Standby for update."

Her radio crackles with a 10-4 acknowledgment as the two cops approach the corner.

"How do you want to do this?" Washington asks.

"Nice and relaxed, we'll walk past and check out the occupants, then keep walking to the bodega. Review there."

"10-4," Washington replies.

They walk past McDonald's, AT&T, an empty store and then the Foot Locker. They keep walking a further three stores then stop outside the bodega as planned and look back.

"Did you see him?" Alex asks.

"Definitely him. Good call."

Alex nods. "Options?"

"We go back there, wait for him to come out, then grab him as he leaves."

Alex plucks her bottom lip, thinking.

"Or we take him in the store, I guess." Washington offers.

"I saw two in the store, both employees, plus him. I didn't see any other customers. You?"

"Nuh-uh, same. Nobody in the vehicles outside either. Looks like he's alone."

Alex takes a moment, considering their options, then makes a decision. "We take him in the store. He has nowhere to run in there, limits his options for escape, minimises risks to the public. We enter, I'll cover the counter and rear, you take the front and the employees. Nice and slow."

"10-4, on your mark."

Alex takes a breath and unholsters her Glock, then the two officers start to walk back towards the store again.

.

* * *

.

In less than ten minutes, they're back in their car and headed back to the precinct, with James P. Buckley, wanted for three counts of armed robbery and one of violent assault, safely cuffed and seated in the rear of their vehicle. One outstanding warrant no longer outstanding.

It takes the rest of their shift to book him, transfer him to central booking and complete the relevant paperwork, but neither of them mind. It's a good arrest, a violent felon is off the streets and they finish work with a sense of having done a good job today.

Alex wishes her partner luck with the ongoing silence from her girlfriend, then climbs on her bike and heads toward the city. She pulls off the road on West 57th in midtown and parks up, before heading on foot to her destination, removing her helmet just as she pushes the door open to Sumiko 57.

She is greeted immediately with a small squeal and a hug by Brook, who manages the upscale restaurant. After chastising Alex for leaving it so long, and Alex apologising profusely and promising to do better in future, she finally gets down to the reason for her unannounced visit.

"I kinda need a favour…" she starts.

Brook checks the screen on the counter beside her and lets out a quiet groan. "Oh God, Alex, not tonight. We're slammed, babe."

Alex laughs softly and shakes her head. "No, no, not tonight. Even I wouldn't be that bold!"

Brook lets out a sigh of relief. "Phew. When?"

"Tomorrow?" Alex asks hopefully, "Around five, five-fifteen?"

"How many?"

"Two."

"Two, huh?" Brook says, keeping her eyes on the screen. A small smile begins on her lips and she looks sideways at the other woman. "A romantic two, or a counter-seat two?"

Alex rolls her eyes and breathes out a quiet defeated sigh. "Why do all of my friends have such a vested interest in my love life?"

"I don't," Brook lies smoothly, "I just want to make sure that if I'm finding you a reservation at incredibly short notice at the best sushi place in the city, I'm finding you the right kind of reservation."

She looks up at Alex, an innocent expression on her face. Then adds cheekily "Also, because you don't have a love life to speak of, and I'm desperate to hear if that's about to change."

Alex laughs softly. "Are you working tomorrow?"

"That depends," Brook replies. "Is it a romantic two or a counter-seat two?"

With a shake of the head Alex finally concedes. "I'd prefer it if it were a little more private than a seat at the counter if that's possible."

Brook turns her eyes back to the screen as she enters the details for the reservation, but she can't conceal her smile. "Well I guess I'll be seeing you tomorrow at five-fifteen then."

"You're working?"

"I am now!"

Alex can't help laughing. "Please don't embarrass me, I'm still trying to create a good impression."

Brook places a hand on her chest and feigns shock. "Who, me? As if I would _ever_."

She taps her screen to complete the reservation, then looks back at Alex. "You're all done. Table for two, five-fifteen tomorrow."

"I owe you, Brook. Thank you."

Brook gives her a wink. "Anything for you, you know that."

The two women hug again, then say their goodbyes. As Alex starts to leave, Brook speaks up again. "Hey, does she have a name? Ms Table-for-Two?"

"Piper," Alex replies, unable to conceal her smile. "Her name is Piper."

.

* * *

.

Alex arrives for work the next day thirty minutes earlier than usual. She wants to be changed into her uniform before her partner gets there, primarily because she doesn't want to deal with the inevitable questions about why she's arrived wearing her good jeans and clearly dressed for an evening out after work.

She's sitting in the briefing room reading through some of the notes for the day ahead when Washington arrives and flops into the seat beside her.

"Morning," Alex says, glancing sideways at her partner.

Washington grunts an unintelligible reply.

"'Sup?"

"I'm not awake yet. You better drive today. I'm just gonna sleep in the passenger seat the entire shift."

"Late night?"

"Dude, I saw the sun come up. I've probably had ninety minutes sleep total."

Alex turns a little in her seat and looks at her partner. "Everything okay?"

"Make-up sex, man. It's a killer."

Alex groans and turns away again. "I was genuinely concerned for you!"

"As you should be. She's nearly fuckin' killed me, Vause. I swear, I don't think I'll ever be able to-"

Mercifully Washington doesn't get to finish that sentence, thanks to the arrival of the Lieutenant and Sergeant for the start of the briefing.

"Tell you later," Washington whispers.

"Please don't," Alex murmurs in reply.

At the end of briefing, the patrols are given their assignments and 26-Adam are dispatched to take over a traffic cordon in Morningside Heights. The road is currently closed by the shift about to go off duty, due to an ongoing 5150 incident. Vause and Washington head off to take over the road closure and relieve the other officers, but stop for coffee en route so that Alex doesn't have to kill her partner.

They arrive at the closure and pull alongside the patrol car already in attendance. The officers about to finish their night shift seem relieved to see them. Alex rolls down her window and speaks to the officers in the adjacent car.

"What's happening?"

Atwood, a tall, well-built guy from Shift 4 looks across at her. "Man, am I glad to see you," he replies. "Some dude on the roof up ahead there, threatening to throw himself off if we don't get his ex-wife and six kids here."

"Terrific."

"We're just running interference here. Negotiators have set up a command post up ahead dealing with it all, EMS are here, FD are there ready with their inflatable pillow in case he does actually jump. We're literally keeping the road closed and sending bystanders on their way."

"Where's the ex-wife and six kids?"

"Puerto Rico," Atwood replies. "I'm not even joking."

Alex chuckles. "Looks like we might be here for some time."

"Well we've been here for four hours now and there's been no progress so far. Good luck, Vause."

"See ya, Atwood," she replies. "Sleep well."

The two officers bump fists, then the Shift 4 patrol peel away leaving Washington and Vause on scene.

"Looks like you may be able to catch up on some sleep after all, Sex Machine."

"Thank you Jesus," Washington replies, then slides down in her seat a little.

Alex keys her radio and lets dispatch know they've arrived, then takes her coffee and steps out of the car. She leans against the hood, drinking her coffee and watching the activity a hundred yards ahead of her further down the street.

It takes just fifteen minutes for the boredom to set in.

.

* * *

.

They're relieved by the oncoming Shift at three-thirty, having spent the entirety of their duty parked up at the end of the road in Morningside Heights. They've been sustained by sandwiches and coffee from a Starbucks around the corner, taking it in turns to run for supplies or to use the bathroom.

They arrive back at the 26th on time to finish their shift and head to their lockers.

"I can't believe yesterday we had a high-profile lock-up and today we've spent a solid eight hours on a road closure. This job sucks sometimes." Washington is ending her shift as she started it, grumbling, but Alex can't argue with her.

"Truth," Alex replies. "One day bad guys, next day mad guys."

"He's not even mad though, is he? He's just a dick."

Alex laughs. "Your compassion," she says, "it's what I like best about you."

They unlock their lockers and secure their weapons. Washington starts to remove her uniform, reaching for her civvies from her locker.

Alex checks her watch. "I'm gonna grab a shower," she says. "Don't wait for me, I'll catch you tomorrow."

"You sure?"

"Sure. Get yourself home and carry on with the making-up thing. Just don't tell me about it tomorrow."

Washington grins. "Have a good night, Vause. See ya tomorrow."

Alex waves without looking back as she heads into the shower. When she emerges ten minutes later, the locker room is almost empty. She dries off and dresses, then checks her phone for messages. Finding none, she heads out to the front of the station.

There, leaning against a wall in the shade of a large tree, watching the kids playing in the playground opposite the station, is Piper Chapman.

Alex takes a couple of seconds before she begins her approach, pulling on the bottom of her jacket as she surveys the other woman. Piper is dressed in a pair of black skinny jeans and a dark blue tailored blazer. Beneath the smart blazer she's wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, which when matched with the black patterned Doc Martens she wears, takes the edge off the formality of the jacket.

_She looks good_, Alex thinks, as she crosses the road towards her. When she's just a few feet away, Alex lets out a low wolf-whistle. Piper doesn't even look around.

"Looking good, Chapman," Alex says, closing the gap between them.

"Are you objectifying me, Officer Vause?"

"Not objectifying. Appreciating." Alex replies with a grin.

Piper turns and looks at Alex for the first time. She very obviously and deliberately looks Alex up and down slowly, causing Alex to raise a questioning eyebrow.

"Two can play that game, Officer," Piper says, with the trace of a smirk.

"And do I pass your scrutiny?"

"Eh, you'll do." Piper replies dismissively, then grins and bumps her shoulder against Alex's.

"C'mon, hot stuff," Alex says as she checks her watch and turns away, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her jacket as she beings to walk. We have a reservation to make."

Piper hurries to catch up and automatically links her arm through Alex's. "A reservation, huh? Where are you taking me?"

"For sushi."

"Well yes, but where?"

"Well right now, I'm taking you to the very glamorous setting of 125th Street Station. Don't get too excited, will you."

Piper smiles. "Oh wow. The subway, huh? You know how to treat a girl, Vause. I feel so lucky right now."

Alex laughs and pulls her hand out of her pocket, slinging her arm casually around Piper's shoulders. "Stick with me, kid, I'll treat you right. The precinct house, the subway, Red's diner… I'll take you to all the best places, you'll see."

.

* * *

.

They exit the subway at Columbus Circle and walk along West 59th Street, skirting the southern edge of Central Park for a couple of blocks, before crossing the road and heading a little further into midtown.

After walking for ten minutes, they finally turn off the sidewalk and into a covered walkway between buildings.

"Okay, I'm now totally lost," Piper admits.

"Don't worry, almost there," Alex replies.

Less than thirty seconds later, they reach their destination. Alex slows and reaches for the door, but pauses in pulling it open when Piper places her hand on her forearm.

"You have to be kidding me," she whispers.

"What?"

Piper looks around, then back to Alex, her eyes wide. "Alex," she begins, "this… this is _Sumiko __57_!"

"Um, yeah? Is that a problem? I told you we were going for sushi."

"Yes but you didn't tell me you were bringing me here!"

Alex lets her hand fall from the door and she turns to face Piper properly, frowning slightly. "What? I don't…"

"Do you know how difficult it is to get a reservation at this place?"

Alex really doesn't. She's friends with Brook, after all. "Umm…"

"I tried to book to bring my parents here last time they were in the city. There is a minimum four week lead on bookings, I didn't stand a chance."

"Oh," Alex replies, not really knowing what to say.

"This is the best sushi in Manhattan, according to practically every culinary publication going."

"Well yeah, that's why we're here." Alex's frown deepens, and she looks a little confused. "What?" she asks, "You didn't think I'd take you somewhere nice? I was only kidding about the station house and the subway and Red's, Pipes."

Piper laughs, a short, breathless little laugh. "No, I… I just… God, Alex. If I'd known you were bringing me here, I'd have worn something a little classier than jeans and Docs and my old college hoody!"

Alex smiles and takes hold of Piper's hand.

"Will they even let us in, dressed like this?" Piper asks, a little anxiously.

"Piper Chapman, you're fucking adorable," Alex smiles, "and you look _sofuckinggood_ in those jeans, you could get in just about anywhere. There's not a place in the city that would turn you away, looking this damn good."

Piper looks a little surprised at Alex's directness, but finds herself smiling regardless.

"You look amazing," Alex continues as she gives the other woman's hand a gentle squeeze, "and certainly deserving of the best sushi in the city."

She releases Piper's hand and reaches for the door again, pulling it open. "Shall we?" she asks, making a sweeping gesture inside the restaurant with her other hand.

Piper pauses for just a moment, then steps up close and brushes her lips against Alex's cheek. "Let's," she whispers, then moves away and steps inside the restaurant.

Alex smiles and follows her into the restaurant, where they're immediately greeted by Brook.

"Good evening ladies," she announces formally with a slight bow, "and welcome to Sumiko 57. How may I assist you this evening?"

Alex raises both of her eyebrows in surprise at Brook's formality and for a moment doesn't know what to say. Piper looks at her and Alex takes a small step forward, looking at Brook in confusion.

"Girl, I know I told you not to embarrass me, but this other extreme is just _weird_."

"_Alex_! This isn't weird, this is _professional_!"

"Yeah, no, just fuckin' weird babe."

Brook rolls her eyes and throws her hands up in exasperation. "I'm trying to help you make a good impression here, and you just totally blew it. Loser."

Alex laughs and takes a step closer to Brook. The two women hug and Alex kisses the shorter woman on the cheek.

As they pull apart, Brook immediately turns to Piper and extends a hand in greeting. "Hi, you must be Piper. I'm Brook. It's a pleasure to meet you, although why you're choosing to hang out with this loser, I'll never know."

Piper shakes Brook's hand and doesn't miss a beat. "I got stood up for the Knicks game tonight and didn't want the ticket to go to waste. She was the only person I could think of who I knew wouldn't have plans at short notice."

Brook laughs genuinely at Piper's response and releases her hand. "I'll give you my number before you leave. Next time you have spare tickets, ditch the cop." She jerks her head in Alex's direction and gives Piper a wink.

"Standing right here!" Alex says, holding her arms out to the side.

Both women turn to her, grinning.

"Come on," Brook says, "let me show you to your table before Piper realises the error of her ways and ditches you before the game has even started."

Piper grins, but sidles up to Alex and takes hold of her hand as Brook leads them past other already seated diners and to their table.

"Is this okay?" Brook asks, turning to look at Alex as they reach a table for two in the rear of the restaurant.

The table is in an elevated part of the restaurant, as distant from the other patrons as it is possible to get. Whilst the majority of the other customers are seated at long bench-style tables or against the counter, this particular table is one of a select few designated for private dining. Whilst there are other tables already occupied holding up to four customers each, none are in this elevated section, and none are as private as this.

"This is fine, thanks," Alex replies nonchalantly, as she pulls out Piper's seat and encourages her to sit.

As she turns away to approach her own seat and is out of Piper's eyeline for just a moment, she clasps both hands to her chest and looks at Brook earnestly. "Perfect," she mouths, "thank you so much."

Brook gives her a knowing wink, then places menus in front of both women as Alex joins Piper at the table.

"Can I get you ladies something to drink?"

Alex looks across at Piper. "Beer?" she asks, smiling as Piper nods.

"We'll take two Hitachino Nest White," Alex says to Brook, without even having to check the drinks menu, "and some water, if that's okay."

"Coming right up," Brook replies. "Enjoy, ladies."

Brook walks away and Piper just looks across the table at Alex, ignoring the menu in front of her.

"What?" Alex asks.

"You're just full of surprises, aren't you."

"I don't know," Alex replies, opening her menu. "Am I?"

She looks across at Piper for a moment, flashes her a quick smile, then looks back at the menu. Piper watches her for a moment longer, then turns her attention to her menu.

No more than a few seconds pass before Piper inhales sharply, causing Alex to look back at her.

"You okay?"

"Damn, Alex. This place isn't cheap," she almost whispers, leaning in.

"Piper!" Alex exclaims. "Stop looking at the numbers. This is my shout."

"Yeah, but…"

"No buts. As far as you're concerned, there are no numbers on this menu. Only words."

"But it's…"

"Pipes, please." Alex says. "I already owe you for my share of the bill on Thursday anyway, and the ticket for later. Let me buy you dinner."

Piper falls silent and looks back at the menu. She doesn't argue, and Alex breathes a quiet sigh of relief as she too focuses her attention back on the pages before her.

Brook returns a couple of minutes later, and places two glasses of beer, two glasses of water and a bowl of edamame beans on the table.

"Are we ready to order?"

Alex looks across at Piper. "You ready?"

Piper looks up at Brook and starts to give her order, sliding her finger down the menu as she reads out her choices. She's partway through the third item of her her request when Alex reaches across and swipes the menu from in front of her, shaking her head.

"Nice try, Chapman," she says, as she places the menu with her own and hands them back to Brook.

"Omakase," she says, looking up at her friend. "For two."

"You don't want…" she begins, looking down at the list she'd started for Piper.

"No, she doesn't." Alex cuts her off. "Omakase. She eats everything except oysters."

"No oysters. Got it. How long do we have?"

Alex checks her watch. "About ninety minutes before we have to leave."

"Coming right up," Brook replies, then turns on her heel and heads off toward the kitchen.

Piper watches her go, then looks back at Alex. "What just happened?"

"I worked you out, that's what just happened."

Piper looks confused and shakes her head. "I don't…"

Alex reaches out for an edamame bean, splitting the pod open with her short thumbnail. "Ordering all the cheapest things on the menu, like you thought I wouldn't notice."

Piper's cheeks turn a slight shade of pink as she reaches for her beer. She takes a sip, stalling as she tries to think up a plausible denial.

"Don't even try to deny it," Alex begins, popping a couple of beans in her mouth, "your guilty blush is giving you away already."

Piper places her beer back on the table and leans in slightly. "It's _really_ expensive though, Alex," she starts, keeping her voice low but concern obvious in her tone.

Alex leans in too, copying Piper's posture and matching her volume. "Maybe I think you're _worth_ it, Chapman."

That shuts Piper up, and she leans back in her seat again. Alex sits back too, but picks up her beer first. She takes a mouthful, then places the glass back on the table.

"This really is a beautiful place," Piper says after a moment, her eyes looking around the restaurant. She smiles a little and looks back at Alex. "Am I allowed to know what I'm having for dinner, now that you hijacked my order?"

Alex shrugs. "I have no idea what we're having."

The confused expression returns to Piper's face. "I thought you ordered omik- omakar- oma-something or other."

"Omakase," Alex smiles. "It essentially translates to '_I'll leave it up to you_'. Or the chef, anyway."

"Wow, really?"

"Yeah, I guess the closest equivalent in Western culture would be a tasting menu? Similar, anyway, but not quite the same. The chef will choose what we eat. It's his chance to shine."

"Which is why you told Brook I don't eat oysters," Piper comments.

"Yep," Alex replies, "and how much time we have before we have to leave for the game. She'll tell the chef and he'll tailor the food accordingly."

"What's it called again? Oma…?"

"Omakase."

"Omakase," Piper repeats. "How did I not know this was a thing?"

Alex smiles and shrugs. "I don't know, but I'm kinda happy you didn't. It's nice to introduce people to new experiences."

Piper nods slowly and reaches for her beer. "Like blueberry hibiscus tea."

Alex laughs softly. "Exactly like that."

Piper looks at Alex for a few seconds longer, then wets her bottom lip with her tongue before taking a sip of her beer.

"What?" Alex asks, watching Piper's mouth.

Piper shakes her head. "Nothing," she replies, smiling shyly. "I'm just contemplating that I think I enjoy having new experiences with you."

"Then here's to many more," Alex replies after a moment, raising her glass of beer towards her companion.

Piper touches her glass against Alex's, whilst holding her gaze. "To many more," she murmurs, smiling.

.

* * *

.

Ninety minutes later, Piper finds herself enveloped in a hug from Brook as they offer their thanks and say their goodbyes before leaving the restaurant.

Alex promises to see her friend soon, thanks her again for the short-notice reservation – and the perfect table – and hugs her tightly before stepping outside with Piper.

"We good?" she asks, looking at Piper.

"We're good," Piper replies, linking her arm through Alex's.

They turn left, heading back out onto 57th Street, then walk a couple of minutes to the subway. Five minutes and three stops later, they exit the subway at Herald Square and walk another five minutes to Madison Square Garden.

Piper shows their tickets and they find their way to their seats, four rows back from court side behind the Knicks' bench, picking up a couple of sodas and taking their seats with minutes to spare before the game begins.

A little over two hours later, they spill onto 8th Avenue with a throng of other spectators, still caught up in the exhilaration of a close, hard-fought game.

Alex stretches up to her tallest height, looking around over the heads of the hundreds of people surrounding them as she gets her bearings, then she takes hold of Piper's hand and holds it tightly as she turns left and pushes her way through the crowd, beginning to move away from the venue.

The crowd eases the further they move from the arena, and a couple of blocks later Alex takes a right, then another left, and they find themselves on 9th Avenue and able to choose their own pace instead of being carried by the crowd, still moving south.

"That was intense!" Piper says.

"The game, or getting away at the end?" Alex asks, grinning.

"Both," Piper laughs, "I'm not sure which got my adrenalin pumping more!"

The two women continue walking, chatting about the game and the unexpected victory. After ten minutes, they pass Red's diner and Piper jerks her head in that direction. "Want to grab a coffee?"

"Hell no," Alex replies, quickening her pace and hurrying past. "I'm pretty sure Nicky was planning on visiting Red tonight, and there's not a chance in hell I'm introducing you to her right now."

"Why not?" Piper asks, glancing back at the diner over her shoulder.

"I'm still at the trying-to-impress you stage, Pipes," Alex grins, "and meeting Nicky will make you run a mile, I'm pretty sure."

Piper smiles and bumps her head against Alex's shoulder. "For the record," she says, hooking her left hand into the crook of Alex's elbow, her right hand still enclosed in Alex's left, "I'm already pretty impressed."

Alex allows herself a small smile. "It was the omakase, wasn't it," she says, downplaying Piper's statement.

Piper grins and holds on to Alex a little tighter. "Definitely the omakase."

They continue walking and fifteen minutes later, the pair turn into Piper's street. They slow their pace as they approach her apartment, and Alex looks up at the imposing building.

"So," she says, as they come to a stop outside Piper's apartment, but then doesn't continue her sentence, finding she doesn't actually know what to say.

"So." Piper replies, with a small smile.

Alex laughs awkwardly, then lets out a long breath. "Thanks for the ticket to the game," she eventually says, looking down at Piper. "I had fun. I'm not sure which I enjoyed most, watching the game or watching your increasing excitement as the Knicks made their late comeback."

Piper smiles. "I might get a little over-invested," she admits.

"It's cute," Alex replies.

"Cute?"

"Mmm. _You're_ cute."

"Like a puppy?"

"Far cuter than a puppy," Alex replies, turning toward the blonde, "and you don't piss on the floor either, so that's a definite plus."

Piper laughs then looks up at Alex, a look appearing in her eye that the cop hasn't seen before. "I'm far better trained than that," she replies, then lowers her tone as she adds, "I'm a good girl."

"I'll bet you are," Alex says softly, the tension in the air changing as she closes the gap between them a little.

Piper wets her bottom lip with her tongue, looking up at Alex.

"I'll bet you're really, _really_ good when you want to be," Alex continues, her voice low, both of her hands moving to hold the front of Piper's blazer.

Piper steps even closer and touches her nose to Alex's cheek. As her hands come up between them to hold Alex's wrists gently, she moves her head slightly, so her mouth is close to the other woman's ear.

"I can be really, really _bad_ if you want me to be too," she breathes.

Alex's grip tightens on Piper's blazer, but she just about manages to stifle a groan. She turns her head very slightly, and her nose touches Piper's cheek. Piper also turns her head a little, and the sides of their noses touch.

They stay like this for a moment, breathing softly, their noses moving gently against the other, until Piper lifts her head a little more and their lips finally meet.

It's barely a kiss, but it feels like so much more than a kiss. Their lips press against each other, soft and gentle, with no urgency.

Alex breathes out through her nose as her eyes flutter closed. Piper tightens her hold on Alex's wrists, but those are the only signs of any intensity. Their mouths remain closed, there's no hint of tongues, or parted lips, or anything more.

After a moment they break apart but remain close, foreheads touching.

"Do you want to-" Piper begins, her voice carrying a huskiness that Alex has never heard before.

"Don't," Alex interrupts, cutting her off. Then softly, "Don't invite me up, Pipes. I don't think I have the strength or the willpower to turn you down twice."

"So don't," Piper murmurs, before pressing her lips against Alex's once more.

It would be so easy, Alex thinks, to give in. It would be so, so easy to deepen this kiss and to wrap herself around this woman, so very easy to surrender to the pulsing need that's dragging her closer to Piper with every moment they spend together. It would be so easy.

But she doesn't. Alex digs deep into a resolve she didn't know with any certainty that she had and she pulls away from the kiss, biting gently at Piper's lower lip as she does so. She places soft kisses along Piper's jawline, moving closer to her ear.

"I don't want to rush this," she breathes, "I don't want to mess this up."

Piper shivers as Alex's warm breath brushes her ear, and her eyes close involuntarily as she leans her head almost imperceptibly closer to the other woman's mouth.

"I want it to be perfect," Alex whispers, "as perfect as you are."

Piper breathes out heavily, and presses even closer to Alex.

"And you are," Alex continues, her words barely more than a breath in Piper's ear, "you're so fucking perfect."

Alex rests her forehead against Piper's shoulder for a few seconds, and finally lets go of her blazer. She takes a deep breath, then straightens and takes a step away.

They look at each other without speaking, then Piper slowly moves her right hand and cups Alex's cheek. She tilts her head slightly and smiles, but still doesn't speak.

Alex breathes a small sigh of relief, then returns Piper's smile as she covers her hand with her own.

_She gets it_, she thinks. _She gets it_.

Holding Piper's hand in place, Alex turns her head and kisses the open palm of her hand, letting her lips linger.

Then she takes a step back, murmurs "Goodnight, Pipes," and slowly walks away.


	7. Chapter 7

**AN: Is there a rating somewhere between a T and an M? If so, that's where we are in this chapter. A little more than a T, a little less - I think - than an M.**

**You decide.**

.

* * *

.

"I want it to be perfect," Alex whispers, "as perfect as you are."

Piper breathes out heavily, and presses even closer to Alex.

"And you are," Alex continues, her words barely more than a breath in Piper's ear, "you're so fucking perfect."

Alex rests her forehead against Piper's shoulder for a few seconds, and finally lets go of her blazer. She takes a deep breath, then straightens and takes a step away.

They look at each other without speaking, then Piper slowly moves her right hand and cups Alex's cheek. She tilts her head slightly and smiles, but still doesn't speak.

Alex breathes a small sigh of relief, then returns Piper's smile as she covers her hand with her own.

_She gets it_, she thinks. _She gets it_.

Holding Piper's hand in place, Alex turns her head and kisses the open palm of her hand, letting her lips linger.

Then she takes a step back, murmurs "Goodnight, Pipes," and slowly walks away.

.

* * *

.

Alex wakes at eight on Monday, and promptly trips over Vincent as she makes her way to the bathroom. She curses at the cat, then takes a shower, dresses and goes downstairs for coffee. As she waits for the pot to brew, she takes out her phone and sends a message to Nicky.

_Free for lunch?_

She drops two pieces of bread in the toaster and collects her mail while she waits.

Nicky's reply comes before her toast is ready.  
_I can do 1:15. That __work for you__?_

Alex pours herself a coffee and leans against the counter as she taps out her reply.  
_Sounds good__. I start work at three. Can we go somewhere this end of the city so I'm closer to work?_

As Alex spreads butter on her toast, Nicky replies with the name of a casual Peruvian restaurant on Amsterdam in the Upper West Side. It'll take Alex around fifteen minutes to get to work from there.

She replies as she eats her toast.  
_Perfect. See you at 1:15._

_Everything okay?_

_Everything's good. See you later._

Alex takes care of some chores, then heads across the river at eleven-thirty and spends a little over an hour in the gym, before taking her second shower and driving up to the restaurant to meet Nicky. She arrives a few minutes after one, and is stunned to discover the notoriously-always-late woman already there and seated in the restaurant.

She approaches the table and pulls out a chair opposite her friend.

"Well this is a first. You feeling okay?"

Nicky looks up at Alex. "Oh hi. Uh, what?"

"You. You're early. Is the world about to end or something?'

"Funny, Vause. I thought I'd make the effort as this is clearly important."

"What is?" Alex asks, pausing briefly to thank the waitress for the menu that's presented to her. "What's important?"

"It's not often you summon me to a same-day lunch, so something's going on."

Alex shakes her head and looks at the menu. "There's nothing going on. I was just free for lunch is all and thought it'd be good to see you."

"Mmhmm," is Nicky's unconvinced reply.

Alex scratches her temple with a fingertip as she looks at the menu. "You eaten here before? Any idea what's good?"

Nicky watches her friend before replying "I'm gonna have the lomo saltado. The arroz chaufa is pretty good though."

Alex reads both options on the menu before nodding. "Arroz chaufa it is. I have work later, so don't know when I'll next get to eat. The carbs will do me good."

Nicky signals to the waitress and gives their order when she arrives, along with a side of tostones and two cans of Inca Kola.

"Work okay?" Nicky asks, as the waitress leaves again.

Alex shrugs. "Same shit, different day. You know how it is."

"Staying safe though, yeah?"

"Always," Alex replies with a small smile. "You okay?"

"I'm good, yeah," Nicky nods. "Saw Red last night, spent a couple of hours with her, so that should keep me in her good books for a little while."

"Always the best place to be with her," Alex smiles. "How're things with Morello?"

Nicky shrugs one shoulder. "You know I don't kiss and tell, Vause."

This causes Alex to laugh out loud. "Bullshit! That's all you _ever_ do!"

Her friend grins, but doesn't offer anything else.

"Seriously," Alex continues, "she okay?"

Nicky smiles at the waitress as she delivers their drinks and waits for her to leave before looking back at Alex. "She's doing great, honestly. Healthy. Staying well."

"That's really good to hear, Nic. Really good. You seeing much of her?"

Nicky snickers and pours her drink into a glass.

Alex tuts. "Grow up. You know I didn't mean it like that."

Nicky grins at her friend and waggles her eyebrows. "I'm seeing _lots_ of her, yeah."

Alex shakes her head and looks away, watching the chefs in the open kitchen as they move around quickly, preparing their lunch.

"How about you?" Nicky asks. "How're things with Sylvie?"

"Who?"

Nicky laughs quietly. "So you're really done with her this time, huh?"

"I should've been really done with her two years ago, but it's just been easy, you know? To keep slipping back there."

"Yep, I get it." Nicky pauses then asks "So what's different?"

"What do you mean?"

"What's made you realise now that you need to close that chapter for good, and stop going back there?"

Alex waits before answering, thanking the waitress who places their food on the table before them. She leans forward over her bowl of food and inhales deeply.

"This smells _really_ good," she says as she picks up her fork, then she looks back at her friend and answers her question. "I don't know, honestly. Nothing? Maybe it's just taken a while for it to sink in that going back there is no good for me."

Alex takes a mouthful of her food, which she quickly considers unwise when Nicky replies, "That's good. Yeah, that's really good. Nothing to do with the hot blonde chick you were walking hand-in-hand with through Chelsea last night then?"

Nicky's response induces a coughing fit as Alex's rice tries to find a way into her windpipe instead of her stomach. Nicky helpfully sits back and laughs at her friend, then gestures to the waitress for a glass of water as Alex's coughing begins to subside.

"Motherfucker," Alex says breathlessly after taking a sip of water.

"You okay there, Stretch?" Nicky grins.

"I fucking hate you," Alex says, before drinking more water.

Nicky laughs again, then continues eating her lunch. "My sources tell me it's not the first time you've been seen together, either,"

"Your _sources_?" Alex raises both her eyebrows.

"Well okay," Nicky admits after a mouthful of food, "Red."

Alex shakes her head and turns her attention back to her food. "I can't believe she's fucking spying on me now."

"I wouldn't go that far," Nicky offers, "in her defence, she was actually quite protective of you."

"What does that even _mean_?" Alex frowns, poking at her food with her fork.

"It means that I saw you last night. Around ten? I was in the diner when I saw you walk past with some blonde chick on your arm heading towards the Village."

Alex sighs and doesn't reply, just continues eating her lunch.

"So I saw you, and I'll admit I was like, _what the fuck? Who the hell is THAT_? So I jumped up to come after you and Red literally grabbed hold of me by the back of my collar and dragged me back into my seat. So I took my phone out to call you, and fucking Red slapped me across the back of the head and took my phone off me!"

Alex looks up at her friend in surprise. "She did?"

"She really did. She gave it back to me when I was leaving, but told me to make a notch on my nose because if I contacted you about what I'd seen, she'd show me where lobsters spend the winter."

"A notch on your…?"

"Don't ask me. I think it means, like, take note or something."

"And the lobster thing?"

"No clue. But I took it as a threat."

"Probably wise. It sounds like one."

"So yeah," Nicky continues after another mouthful of food, gesturing at Alex with her fork, "protective of you, see."

"Huh," is all Alex responds with, a little surprised at this.

The waitress appears to check everything is okay with their lunch, and Nicky orders another soda. Once she leaves again, Nicky gets back on track.

"So who is she?"

"Just a friend," Alex shrugs, going for nonchalance.

Nicky laughs low in her throat. "Wanna try that answer again but with a little more sincerity?"

"She is," Alex insists, "she's just a friend from work."

"Just a friend from work who you've been hanging out with at Red's on at least three occasions, and who you happened to be out with last night despite it not being a day off and having worked an early shift and I _know_ you never go out after an early shift."

"I can't believe that after all these years, it is _now_ that you finally manage to work out my shift pattern, and then you fucking use it against me!"

Nicky grins. "I've always known your shift pattern, I just like how angry you get when you think I don't know it because I don't pay attention."

Alex points at her friend with her fork. "You're lucky I'm not stabbing you in the eye with this right now."

"You love me really."

Alex grunts and turns her attention back to her food, not looking at her grinning companion.

"Does she have a name at least?" Nicky asks after a few seconds of silence.

"We're not talking about her, Nichols."

"Is she a cop?"

"Not talking about her."

"I really think we should."

"It's not happening."

"If you don't tell me her name, I'm going to have to keep calling her '_hot blonde chick_' and that's disrespectful."

"You could just not call her anything at all, as we're specifically not talking about her. That works."

"Why the secrecy?"

Alex sighs and shakes her head, but doesn't reply.

"Aww c'mon, Vause. You gotta give me something!"

Alex finishes her arroz chaufa and pushes her bowl away slightly. She takes a drink of soda then makes an exhibition of checking her watch. "Wow, is that the time already?"

"Oh no no no, no you don't…"

"So, thanks for lunch, it was good to see you."

"Vause, don't do this!"

Alex opens her wallet and pulls out a twenty, then drops it in the centre of the table. "I gotta run, can't be late for work."

"Alex!"

Alex pushes her chair back and picks up her motorcycle helmet. She looks across at her friend. "What?"

"Are you really gonna go?"

"I gotta go to work, Nicky."

"_Fuck_, really? You're _really_ not gonna tell me anything about her?"

Alex stands and pushes her seat back under the table opposite Nicky. "When I have something to tell you, then I'll tell you. Right now, I have nothing to say."

"Damn. You like her that much, huh?"

Alex sucks on her bottom lip, looking through the restaurant window onto Amsterdam Avenue for a few seconds, before dragging her teeth over her lip and looking down at her friend.

"She's different," she eventually says, her voice quiet. "She's special and I'm not going to cheapen her by having the kind of conversation with you that we've had so many times before. She's different. _This_, is different. Okay?"

Nicky looks up at Alex from her seat at the table, taken aback by her best friend's serious tone and demeanour.

"Okay," she replies. "I'll take that."

"See you soon, Nichols," Alex says, leaning down to kiss her on the forehead. "Give my love to Morello."

She leaves the restaurant before Nicky can reply, leaving her friend sitting alone at the table.

.

* * *

.

Alex is a little over an hour early for work following her speedy departure from lunch. She changes into her uniform, but stays in the locker room for a while longer, turning her phone over and over in her hands.

After five minutes of contemplating, she finally composes a text and sends it to Piper.

_I'm thinking about you.  
__Just thought I should let you know._

A reply comes a couple of minutes later.

_You're thinking about me?  
__You mean like I was "thinking about" you  
__after you left last night? Or just that you're  
__thinking about me? ;)_

Alex is a mixture of surprised and delighted at Piper's reply. It takes her a few moments to compose a response.

_I'm sitting in the locker room at work so  
__I assure you it's only thinking. _

She hits send, then immediately types and sends another.

_This time._

Over at Station 16, Piper, whose shift starts thirty minutes before Alex's, nods a greeting to a couple of colleagues as she arrives for work and makes her way into her own locker room, grinning. She starts to change into her uniform, then pauses and replies to Alex's text.

_This time, huh? So when was the last time  
__you were "thinking about" me?_

The truth is that Alex has found Piper creeping into her thoughts more and more recently, but they both know that's not what Piper is really asking here. She pauses before replying, wondering whether to play it cool, act dumb, or go for all-out honesty.

_That'd be last night, when I got home  
__after leaving you._

Honesty has always been Alex's policy. She sits back on the bench, leaning against her locker and holds her phone in two hands against her chest, hoping she hasn't just made a mistake.

At Station 16, Piper sits heavily on her own bench, only halfway through dressing when she receives Alex's reply. It takes her two attempts to compose a response.

_You realise we were probably "thinking  
__about" each other at the exact same time,  
__right?_

Alex reads the text when it arrives and can only think of one response.

_Hot._

Piper, still only half changed into her uniform, wearing just her bra, trousers and work boots, stands and walks into the shower area and takes a selfie in the full-length mirror. She sends it to Alex with no accompanying message.

Alex opens the message and takes a few moments to study the photo. She has a sudden desperate urge to cover Piper's abdomen in kisses. She feels a familiar warmth begin to pool in her lower belly and closes the image quickly, clearing her throat.

Back over at Station 16, Piper continues dressing and greets her crew mate as she arrives for work. A couple of minutes later, another message arrives from _Hot Cop_.

_I say again: Hot._

Emboldened by this reply, and knowing that in a couple of minutes her shift will start and this messaging will have to end - or at least be temporarily suspended – Piper taps out another reply.

_Did you come? Last night, when you were  
_"_thinking about" me, did you come?_

Alex reads the message and raises her eyebrows, not the first time surprised by Piper's directness. She thinks back to the night before, alone in her bed with her thoughts of Piper, her fingers touching her body in places she wanted Piper to touch, before her faithful battery-operated friend took over and pushed her over the edge, her hips lifting from the bed as she tumbled into an oblivion that was filled with nothing but Piper.

_Yes._

Honesty again, Alex's policy. Piper allows herself a small smile when she reads the one-word reply, then composes her final message before starting her shift.

_I made you come without even being  
__there. Imagine what it'll be like when  
I __am. I'm going to make you come so  
__fucking hard you're not going to know  
__what hit you. I will make you come again,  
__and again, and again until you're begging  
__me to stop and show you some mercy.  
__I'm going to make you FEEL like you've  
__never felt before. I'm going to make you  
__come like you never have before.  
__And I can't wait.  
__Stay safe out there, Hot Cop. Have a good  
__shift. xx_

Diaz watches her partner from the opposite bench in the locker room, watching as her fingers fly rapidly across her phone's touchscreen. She watches the look of concentration on Piper's face, mixed with a small smirk, an almost-smile that she's never seen before.

"Who're you texting?" she asks, lacing her boots.

"Hmm?" Piper is only half-listening, engrossed in the message she's about to send. She taps the button to send the message and looks up and across at her partner. "Sorry, what?"

Diaz narrows her eyes and raises her chin slightly as she looks back at her. "If I didn't know better, Paramedic Chapman, I'd say you were sexting right then."

The immediate flush of pink that covers Piper's neck and cheeks is all the confirmation Diaz needs, despite Piper's immediate denial. Before Diaz can push for details, the siren rings out signalling not just the start of their shift, but an immediate turn out to a job too and the pair leap up to respond.

Back over at the 26th Precinct, Officer Alex Vause can't quite stifle a groan as she reads the message she's just received. She feels a rush of warmth between her legs and squeezes her thighs together tightly. She checks the time before stashing her phone, removing her uniform again and heading into the shower.

This will be her third shower of the day, but this one is not at all about getting clean. This one's all about Piper Chapman.

.

* * *

.

"You have to be fucking shitting me," Washington starts as they walk towards their patrol car. "He's _still_ up there? How the fuck can he be _still_ up there? What the actual fuck?"

Alex shrugs. "You heard the L-T."

"They're not actually bringing his family from Cuba, are they?"

"Puerto Rico," Alex corrects her partner. "They're coming from Puerto Rico."

They climb into the car and Alex starts the engine, then guides the car along the familiar streets.

"What the fuck are the negotiators doing?"

Alex shrugs again.

"If the motherfucker was gonna jump, he'd have done it by now. I can't believe they're actually flying his wife in! He is playing them and he's fucking winning. How long has he been up there now?"

"About thirty-six hours," Alex replies.

"And what? He hasn't needed to take a shit, or grab some food, or, I don't know, a fucking coat or something?"

"I think they've been helping him with that stuff as part of their negotiations."

"Fuck their negotiations! Next time he needs to take a dump, grab a hold of the motherfucker, slap the cuffs on him and drag his ass down to Central for wasting all of our fucking time."

Alex steers the car into the same position in the road in Morningside Heights as she left the previous afternoon, and chooses to remain silent. The car they're relieving signals to them and pulls away, their shift coming to a welcome end.

Washington looks along the road and sees an ambulance and fire truck ahead, the big inflatable pillow still in place, and the mobile command post housing the negotiators of whom she's such a fan.

"What a waste of fucking resources this is. Someone should send him a bill when this is all over."

Alex nods her head slowly and gives a non-committal hum.

"And _you_," Washington half-turns in her seat towards her partner, "you're so fucking chill about the whole thing there is not a chance in hell that I'm going to believe you when you tell me you didn't get laid this time. What the fuck is your story?"

Alex laughs and holds her hands up defensively. "Woah there tiger, don't be turning your pent up aggression on me!"

"You're gonna get your fingers burned, Vause. Again. I don't know how many times I have to tell you, she is is bad news and she is-"

"Enough," Alex interrupts her partner, her voice firm, all trace of the previous humour completely absent. "Don't overstep, Poussey. You're getting really fucking close."

Washington huffs, but wisely chooses to remain quiet, staring out of the windshield instead.

"I haven't seen her, okay?" Alex says after a few seconds of heavy silence, her voice now missing that hard edge. "I told you this two days ago and it's the same now. I haven't seen her, I haven't spoken to her, and I don't intend to. You were right, okay? You and Nicky and Diaz and Brook and all my other friends who warned me about her from the very beginning. You were right. I get it. I'm done with it. I'm done with her."

Washington looks back at her partner and nods after a moment.

"Now let it the fuck go."

Before her partner can reply, Alex exits the car and closes the door a little harder than necessary then walks away.

When she returns five minutes later, she's carrying a tray from Starbucks with four cups of coffee. She slides back into the car and removes one cup from the tray before passing the others to her partner.

"You need coffee," she says.

"Probably. But do I need three?"

Alex takes a sip of her own coffee before gesturing through the window. "You see that ambulance down there? The red and white truck with FDNY emblazoned all over it?"

Washington frowns and looks through the windshield. "I know what an ambulance looks like," she grumbles.

"See the number on the back of it?"

Washington leans forward and squints, but can't quite make out the number.

"I'll give you a clue," Alex says, "it reads 161."

"For real?" Washington asks, looking back at Alex.

"For real," she replies, sliding down in her seat a little. "Now go."

A grin breaks out on Washington's face and she scrambles out of the car with the tray of coffee, heading towards the ambulance she now knows is crewed by her girlfriend and partner.

After fifteen minutes, Alex gets out of the patrol car and leans against the front wing of the vehicle, stretching her legs as she finishes her coffee. She's been there for just a couple of minutes when she notices a certain blonde haired paramedic exit the ambulance further along the road and begin walking towards her.

Alex watches her approach and scratches her temple, knowing now what this certain paramedic looks like in this uniform but minus her shirt, and unable to prevent that image from popping into her mind as she watches her.

"Officer Vause," Piper says by way of greeting when she reaches the vehicle. All business.

"Paramedic Chapman," Alex nods in response.

"Thank you for the coffee, it's appreciated."

"No problem."

Piper leans against the hood of the patrol car and looks back down the street towards her ambulance, folding her arms against her chest.

"Your partner and my partner were a little confused when the cups were distributed and it became clear you know exactly how I take my coffee."

"Shit," Alex mutters under her breath.

"Mmm. Schoolgirl error, Vause. The three of us decided in the end that it must have just been a lucky guess."

"Well that's definitely lucky," Alex replies. She places her empty coffee cup back inside the vehicle, then moves around the front to lean against the hood next to Piper.

Piper's arms remain folded across her chest and Alex tucks her own hands into the top of her stab vest. The two women look down the street towards the ambulance and fire truck and the hive of activity around them.

"Interesting conversation down there, actually," Piper says after a few moments of silence.

"Oh?"

"Mmm. Your partner was telling us how you just 'lost your shit' with her, 'right outta nowhere', and all because you apparently got laid and won't admit it."

Alex raises an eyebrow. "Oh is that right?"

"According to them, yep."

"That isn't right, for the record," Alex says, turning her head towards Piper, "as I'm sure you're already aware."

"Oh, I'm aware," Piper replies with a small smile, looking briefly at the other woman.

Both women let their gazes drift back down the street and a silence descends.

Piper clears her throat quietly.

Alex lets out a heavy sigh and frowns as a sudden thought occurs to her.

"So what else are they saying?" she asks.

Piper glances at her, then away again, before clearing her throat for a second time.

"For fuck's sake," Alex mutters.

Piper just shrugs her shoulders and keeps quiet.

"Remember that night," Alex begins quietly a few seconds later, "the night Mikey died and you took me home?"

"I remember," Piper says softly.

"And the next day we had brinner."

"Without oysters."

Alex smiles a little. "That's right, no oysters. On account of the poop."

Piper nods and smiles and looks down at her feet.

"I told you about her then. When we were having brinner."

Piper nods again, but still can't look at Alex.

"And what I told you," Alex says, keeping her voice low given their position in the middle of a public street, "and what I told Washington last week, was the absolute truth."

"They don't believe you."

"I don't care what they believe, Piper. It's the truth. That's why I 'lost my shit' with Washington, because she just won't let it go. I've let it go."

Both women are quiet for a little while, alone with their thoughts. It's Piper who takes up the conversation again.

"It's a little weird, you know. She was almost abstract when she was just 'ex-girlfriend'. Now she has a name, it kinda makes her real. Now apparently she's _Sylvie_."

"She _is_ real," Alex shrugs. "She's a real person. But her name isn't important, _she_ isn't important. The only important part is the '_ex_' part and the fact that I've moved on. Finally."

"They're convinced, you know," Piper says, keeping her voice quiet, "absolutely convinced that you got laid during your rest days. And also last night actually."

"Do you have any idea how much it pisses me off that they think any of this is any of their business. That they think it's okay to discuss my life like this?"

Piper nods her head. "I'm getting some idea, yeah."

Both women fall silent again. Eventually Alex speaks.

"I suppose they're kind of right though, aren't they." Alex says, with a sideways glance at Piper. "I mean, almost. I mean, the… the, uh, _outcome_ is the same, I guess."

"The _outcome_?" Piper says, with a raised eyebrow, barely able to suppress a smile.

"You know exactly what I'm trying to say, Chapman."

Piper grins and shifts her position leaning against the hood, 'accidentally' bumping her shoulder against Alex's as she does, in what's actually a playful gesture.

"I do," she admits. "They're just placing another person physically into that scenario."

"Right."

"But the _outcome," _she pauses and grins at the use of the word, "was ultimately the same."

"Right."

"Right."

"I mean, _better_ if I'm honest."

Piper can't help a little laugh escaping her at Alex's admission.

"I mean, she's an ex for a reason, Pipes," Alex grins.

"I see," Piper smiles.

"Do you though?"

Piper looks at Alex, noting the sudden change in her tone from playful to serious, and frowns a question back at her.

"Truth is, Chapman," Alex says, her voice no more than a murmur, letting her gaze drift back down the street "you've made me come three times so far, without even being there. Once, yes, on my rest days – Thursday, actually – and once last night as you already know, and once…" she pauses, making a deliberate show of extending her arm and checking her watch, "about ninety minutes ago right after I received a certain text message."

Piper breathes a surprised "Oh!"

"Without even being there," Alex repeats, "and every single time was more intense, more impassioned, more _fulfilling_ than every other time with Sylvie actually present during our entire relationship, or the miserable off-and-on two years since."

To anyone watching, they were just two professionals leaning against the hood of a police vehicle, discussing an ongoing incident. Speaking quietly, so as to preserve the confidentiality of the individual in crisis.

In truth, their conversation was so much more than that.

"I want to be there," Piper murmurs after clearing her throat, crossing and uncrossing her legs. "Next time, I want to be there."

Alex doesn't reply, and keeps her gaze fixed on the ambulance down the street.

Piper pushes off the hood of the vehicle. She leans closes and breathes in Alex's ear. "I wanna taste what you taste like," then turns and casually walks back to her ambulance without a backwards glance.


	8. Chapter 8

"I see," Piper smiles.

"Do you though?"

Piper looks at Alex, noting the sudden change in her tone from playful to serious, and frowns a question back at her.

"Truth is, Chapman," Alex says, her voice no more than a murmur, letting her gaze drift back down the street "you've made me come three times so far, without even being there. Once, yes, on my rest days – Thursday, actually – and once last night as you already know, and once…" she pauses, making a deliberate show of extending her arm and checking her watch, "about ninety minutes ago right after I received a certain text message."

Piper breathes a surprised "Oh!"

"Without even being there," Alex repeats, "and every single time was more intense, more impassioned, more _fulfilling_ than every other time with Sylvie actually present during our entire relationship, or the miserable off-and-on two years since."

To anyone watching, they were just two professionals leaning against the hood of a police vehicle, discussing an ongoing incident. Speaking quietly, so as to preserve the confidentiality of the individual in crisis.

In truth, their conversation was so much more than that.

"I want to be there," Piper murmurs after clearing her throat, crossing and uncrossing her legs. "Next time, I want to be there."

Alex doesn't reply, and keeps her gaze fixed on the ambulance down the street.

Piper pushes off the hood of the vehicle. She leans closes and breathes in Alex's ear. "I wanna taste what you taste like," then turns and casually walks back to her ambulance without a backwards glance.

.

* * *

.

Alex spent the remainder of her shift either in or on her vehicle. Her partner spent much of the shift between her own vehicle and the ambulance fifty yards away. Mainly the ambulance. Piper didn't return to the police cruiser at all in the following eight hours. Alex didn't know whether to be relieved or disappointed about this.

Forty-five minutes before the end of their shift, Washington returned to the police vehicle for the last time and slid into the passenger seat. Alex watched as the ambulance pulled away and was replaced by the incoming truck from the next shift, Diaz and Chapman heading back to their station and home.

"Anything happening down there?" Alex asks, already knowing the answer.

"Russo from 16th Fire has started a book on when the dude is coming down. I'm in for twenty with tomorrow between four and five p.m.."

"Huh. Why then specifically?"

"Because we're back on shift at three, and if we're sent down here again tomorrow I'll go up there and drag the fucker down myself."

Alex laughs briefly. "Pretty sure that'll make your bet null and void."

"Don't care. It'll be worth it if I don't have to spend another shift stuck here."

"Stuck _here_? You've spent most of the past eight hours cosying up to your girlfriend. And getting _paid_ for it!"

"Yeah that's a fair point. I'll give you that one," Washington concedes.

"I'm surprised you haven't ran out of things to talk about. Don't you talk at home?"

"Nah girl, too busy lovin' when we're at home," Washington relies with a wink.

"Stop. Don't say another word. I wish I hadn't said anything."

Washington laughs but doesn't disclose any inappropriate details, much to Alex's relief.

"It turns out Chapman has a love interest that she's being really coy about. We've spent most of the shift trying to get details out of her, honestly."

Alex tugs at her shirt collar and tries to tread a line between casual interest and total indifference. "Huh, okay. And how'd that go?"

Washington shrugs. "Not fantastic, but we're getting there."

Alex nods but says nothing.

"Diaz caught her sexting right at the start of her shift," Washington laughs, "and she's denying it but she blushes the cutest shade of pink you ever saw whenever she does."

"She blushes? She's seem far too… together, to blush."

"Yeah no, really. Neck, cheeks, ears, the whole deal!"

"You should be careful," Alex cautions. "We've known each other a lot of years, so when you do this pushy shit with me it's begrudgingly accepted. She's been around for all of five minutes. It's a fine line, you know?"

"Ah it's just a bit of fun, just banter," Washington replies dismissively.

"Yeah to you maybe. But there's more going on with her, I'm pretty sure. You ever find out why she left her old shift?"

Washington thinks about this for a moment. "No, no I didn't. You told me to leave it alone."

Alex nods her head once and says nothing else, just leaving her question out there.

"Yeah. Okay," Washington says after a few seconds of thought, "I'll speak to Daya, tell her to back off a little. We're only playing, but I guess we don't know what we're playing with."

"Exactly," Alex replies.

"Damn shame though," Washington grins, "she got a text from her dad when we were sitting in the truck and when she opened her messages, we could see the last one she sent before this was to someone saved in her contacts as 'Hot Cop', swear to God!"

Alex is immensely grateful for the darkness of the night when she hears this, as she's absolutely certain her cheeks are now burning.

"Huh, really?" Alex replies, then mercifully is able to immediately follow this up with. "Ah, relief is here," and she exits the vehicle to greet the arriving officers from the night shift.

By the time she returns to the car, her partner is more interested in getting back to the House and heading home than the identity of the mysterious _Hot Cop_, and Alex breathes a quiet sigh of relief.

.

* * *

.

A little under twelve hours later, Alex is back in midtown. On this occasion she's only three blocks from where she'd shared sushi with Piper two nights ago, and she recalls this with a small smile as she pushes her way through the doors to the Museum of Modern Art.

On this occasion she has no plans to meet anyone. On this occasion, her meeting is of an entirely different nature.

Alex shows her ticket and follows the signs to a viewing room off one of the main exhibition spaces on the third floor, where she has to show her ticket again. She's asked to wait as she's five minutes early, which she does without complaint.

When she's allowed entry, it is with just three other people – an older couple and a kid in his late teens with a patchy beard and a faint odour of weed. The room she enters is small, maybe ten feet wide by twelve feet long, with subdued lighting. There are three benches in the room, each about five feet long, with a plain cushioned top. The walls are all blank, with the exception of the one in front of the benches.

The kid takes a seat on the front bench, the couple sit behind him. Alex chooses to stand. She moves one step to the left of the door through which they entered and leans back against the wall.

In front of her, looming large on the wall, hangs a Salvador Dali artwork she's come specifically to see. She's seen his work before, but has often been taken aback by how physically small the works in the MoMA collection are. This one is different. This work is over two metres high and more than a metre wide and it quite literally dominates the room and takes her breath with it.

After staring for the better part of two minutes, Alex finds herself drawn from her position against the wall. She silently moves to the front bench and takes a seat next to the kid. He glances sideways at her for a moment, but doesn't speak. She looks up at the oil on canvas artwork, and becomes totally consumed by it.

The painting is on loan for just three months, from the Kelvingrove Art Gallery in Glasgow, Scotland. She has wanted to see this piece in person for almost as long as she can remember. It's entitled _Christ of Saint John of the Cross_ and it is breathtakingly beautiful. She looks up at the painting and completely loses herself in it. Time slows, her awareness of the other people around her dims, and she is completely absorbed by the art in front of her. She cannot tear her eyes away from it. Although she's never been particularly spiritual, even less so since the death of her mother some years ago, she finds there's something deeply spiritually moving about the painting and is surprised by the sudden lump in her throat.

After fifteen minutes, the door she entered through opens and a voice announces that time is up. The teen beside her rises to his feet, and she hears the older couple do the same. Alex remains seated, pleased she'd had the foresight to book a double-viewing slot, and turns her attention back to the painting.

She's aware of the arrival of three more people into the room, but all choose seats behind her. Her attention remains fixed on the painting as she takes in every detail, the way the light falls on the skin, the angle of the pose, the water that changes the whole aspect as she looks at it. The perspective changes depending on where she focuses her eyes and she has no idea how that even works, but she's fascinated by it.

When another fifteen minutes have passed, the door at the rear of the room opens again and she knows her time is up. Alex slowly rises to her feet, gives the painting one last lingering look, then turns to leave. In the row behind her, a middle aged gentleman stands and nods a brief polite acknowledgment before moving along the row then turning back towards his companion.

His companion hasn't moved at all. His companion is still seated where he left her, staring open-mouthed in surprise at the woman standing in front of her having risen from her seat in the front row.

Piper looks up at Alex and can't think of a single thing to say.

.

* * *

.

"So you two work together, is that right?"

The three of them are seated in the museum's cafe, two coffees, one herbal tea and three slices of cake on the table before them.

"Yessir, in a roundabout way," Alex replies.

"Alex is a police officer," Piper explains, lowering her volume slightly as she discloses this. "We work the same shift pattern and the same patch, so our paths cross frequently despite the different roles."

Bill Chapman looks surprised on discovering Alex's occupation, but covers it well. She's pleasantly surprised when he doesn't go with the usual '_have you ever shot anybody_' question, and instead simply replies "Ah yes, I can imagine how that would work, I think. Do you enjoy it?"

"I love it," Alex admits. "It has its moments of course where I'd rather do anything else in the world, but for the most part I love it. I get to see both the very best and the very worst of the city, and indeed of the people who call it home."

"I think that's how Piper feels about her role too, don't you?"

"Mmm," Piper responds, before swallowing a mouthful of cake. "Pretty much. Some days are fantastic, other days are heartbreaking. It's the nature of the beast."

Alex nods her agreement. "What line of business is it that you're in, Mr Chapman?"

"Bill, please," he smiles, and Alex nods her acknowledgement. "I'm fortunate enough to be retired these days," he continues, "but art was my thing. Importing it, buying it, selling it, loaning it. Everything except stealing it, I promise," he ends with a grin.

"_Dad_!" Piper places one hand on her forehead half covering her eyes, looks down and shakes her head slightly. It's the typical gesture of a child being embarrassed by a parent and Alex finds it totally adorable.

"I said _except_ stealing it, don't worry!" Bill replies, amused by his daughter's reaction. He looks back at Alex, smiling. "I think I might be being _embarrassing dad_ again. Sorry."

"No need to apologise to me," Alex replies, "it's actually funny seeing your usually oh-so-composed daughter squirming. I'm quite enjoying it."

"You really didn't know the other was coming here today?"

"Well you only texted me late last night to confirm you had the tickets, so I hadn't mentioned it to anybody. Then I was working when your text came in," Piper replies.

"No sir, I had no idea," Alex confirms. "Nobody knew I was coming here, if I'm honest."

"Nobody?" Piper asks, looking across at Alex.

Alex shrugs. "Nope. I kinda wanted some time on my own with the painting, does that sound weird?"

"Not at all," Bill replies, "I totally understand that. Some works can be deeply moving, or invoke unexpected feelings that are intensely personal, so wanting to experience that on your own is entirely understandable, and not weird at all."

"Yeah, I think it's just weird," Piper replies, then grins at Alex to show she's teasing.

"You just have no appreciation of the piece, philistine."

Alex's response to his daughter makes Bill Chapman laugh out loud. "She has you there, darling!" he laughs.

Piper just raises one eyebrow at Alex and tilts her head very slightly towards her father.

_Look at you two, bonding_, her expression says. Alex takes a drink of her coffee to hide her smile.

"So did you enjoy the piece?" Bill asks Alex. "The Dali?"

"I'm not sure 'enjoy' is the right word," she replies. "It was so much more than that. I don't think I have the vocabulary to describe what I felt," Alex admits.

Piper's father nods his understanding. Piper looks at Alex in surprise. "Really?" she asks.

"Really," Alex replies, then uses her fork to cut a small piece of carrot cake. She pops the cake in her mouth whilst she thinks, trying to work out how to describe her emotional response to the artwork.

"It's so stunningly beautiful, it just took my breath away."

"It really is," Bill agrees.

"It isn't often that I'm fortunate to be around such beauty," Alex says, glancing briefly at Piper and feeling her cheeks start to colour as she does. "To be captivated so completely."

She looks back at her cake, not daring to look at Piper again.

"I found it quite dark," Bill replies, oblivious to Alex's glance at his daughter. "Beautiful, yes, but such a dark subject matter. The Crucifixion? Haven't we seen enough depictions of that by now?"

Bill's question is a challenge, intended to draw out Alex's true feelings regarding the painting and she doesn't miss a beat.

"Not like that, we haven't. Never before like that. Velázquez, Rubens, El Greco, even Rembrandt – they all paint the same image, don't they. Dali has presented this in an utterly different way to all of them. No nails, no blood, no crown of thorns, no clichéd pained facial expression. Nobody else has been brave enough to depict the crucifixion from such an unusual angle and it _works_."

Piper is staring at Alex, both surprised and impressed. Alex doesn't notice and continues.

"He's almost completely reinventing the typical understanding of the crucifixion of Christ, and the absence of the nails and the blood and the thorns means there is nothing to detract from the absolute beauty. He conveys the pain and the torture, but without the cliché. He did the same thing in _Corpus Hypercubus, _which is also here in MoMA if you haven't seen it? But Corpus doesn't move me quite like this does. This touches me. I experience a physical and emotional reaction to it that I can't begin to explain."

Bill nods his understanding. Piper is still staring.

"You're right, of course. The choice of angle is remarkable, though I'd never made the connection between the lack of… of… paraphernalia in this and _Corpus_ before." He turns his attention to Piper and directs his next question towards her. "How about you? What did you think about it?"

"Uh, I… I thought…" she trails off and shakes her head. "I thought you were a cop," she says to Alex, "not an art critic!"

Alex grins. "I'm not an art critic, I just know what I like when I see it."

She raises one eyebrow at Piper as she finishes her sentence and Piper ducks her head to hide her smile.

"You clearly have good taste," Bill replies, unaware once more of the hidden meaning behind Alex's words, "it really is quite special."

He's referring to the painting of course, but Alex is thinking only of his daughter. "I can't argue with that, sir," Alex replies, "it really is very, very special."

She chances a glance at Piper and offers her a small smile, noting the tinge of pink that has coloured her neck, and cheeks, and ears. Just as Washington had described.

"As much as I'm enjoying spending time with you both, I'm afraid I'm going to have to make a move," Alex says, pushing her now-empty plate away and reaching for her jacket. "Work is calling."

Piper sits up straighter and grabs her phone to check the time. "Is that the time already?" she asks, a note of alarm creeping in.

"No no, it's okay," Alex says quickly, reassuring her. "I have to go home and grab clean uniform first, that's all. You have plenty of time."

Piper breathes a sigh of relief and visibly relaxes. Alex pushes her seat back from the table and stands, extending a hand as she does.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Mr Chapman."

Bill Chapman rises from his seat as he takes Alex's hand. "Bill," he reminds her with a smile. "You too, Alex. It's good to meet one of Piper's friends here in the city, to know she has good people around her. The pleasure was mine."

He squeezes Alex's hand gently before releasing it. Alex looks across the table at Piper and quickly considers her options. A handshake would be too formal, a kiss on the cheek too informal, a hug would just be awkward.

Instead she touches two fingers to her temple and moves them in Piper's direction in a mock salute. "Later, Chapman."

.

* * *

.

"One-thirty this afternoon."

These are the words that her partner uses to greet Alex when she turns up for her shift a little later.

"Excuse me?"

"That's what time he came down. I lost twenty bucks for the sake of two and a half hours. I'll see you up there," Washington calls over her shoulder as she leaves the locker room. "I need to catch the L-T."

Thirty minutes later they're in their patrol car, Washington behind the wheel. As is often the case when Washington is driving and a late shift is just beginning, Alex finds herself being driven slowly around the streets that surround Columbia University.

"We would pull people over for this shit, you know that don't you."

"For what?"

"Kerb crawling!"

Washington laughs and rolls down her window, resting her elbow on the frame. "I think you'll find, Officer Vause, that I'm ensuring the safety of _all_ of the members of our community."

"Yeah, especially the young and pretty female ones!"

Washington doesn't deny this. She can't, as she's too busy flashing a killer smile and waving to allow two students to cross the road in front of their car.

Alex waits for them to pass, then looks at her partner. "I rest my case, pervert!"

Washington grins and again offers no denial.

"So the dude on the roof," Alex says a couple of minutes later. "Did he come down on his own, or did they fly his wife in?"

"On his own, is what I heard. Apparently wife changed her mind at the airport and didn't get on the plane. After that, he just kinda gave up."

"Ouch," Alex replies. "That's gotta sting."

Washington shrugs. "It was all about her, wasn't it. He never had any intention of jumping, he just wanted to get her back here. Once he realised she wasn't coming, he just came down. The long way, rather than the fast way."

"You don't have to sound so disappointed about that!"

"I'm disappointed about the cash! The pot was over five hundred dollars! Five-forty I think."

Alex lets out a low whistle. "So who won?"

"Someone from Station 16."

"Fire?"

"Nah, medic."

"Dude, if you're about to tell me Diaz won this thing, I'm gonna…"

"Noooo," Washington laughs, "no, she didn't. Someone from Shift One won it, Mendez I heard."

"_George_ Mendez?" Alex asks, her head whipping around toward her partner.

"Huh? Um, yeah. Yes." Washington is glancing at Alex whilst simultaneously trying to keep her eyes on the road. "You know him?"

Alex shakes her head and looks out of the window again. "Not directly. I've just heard his name before."

"Guy's a Grade A asshole. Total douchebag."

"Really?"

"According to Daya, yeah. I've never met him, but she doesn't have a good word to say about him. I think he's a shift supervisor or something."

"Yeah, that's what I heard."

Washington is distracted by a pair of students jogging along the sidewalk for a moment and Alex isn't sure how she's going to be able to steer the conversation back to Mendez once her attention is back in the car.

She needn't have worried. Washington picks up right where she left off. "You remember about a year and half ago when she got wrapped up in all of that disciplinary stuff?"

"Vaguely," Alex admits. "She was somebody's witness or something, right?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Well it was about him."

"Mendez?"

"Yeah. He was harassing this other chick, Ali, Alice, Alison something. Like, sexually. Daya had seen it and when the other chick tried to take it further, Daya stood with her."

"I didn't know that," Alex replies, her voice quiet. "That was good of her."

Washington shrugs. "It was the right thing to do."

"Well yeah, but you and I both know that people don't always do the right thing."

"Truth," Washington admits. "The way I understand it, he's a serial offender but nobody ever has the stones to stand up to him."

Alex finds herself frowning and she can feel the tension building in her neck and shoulders. Before she can speak, Washington continues.

"And when they do, like with this thing Daya got involved in, it goes nowhere."

"Because…?"

"I have no clue. He has friends in high places? I don't know. In this case, the woman withdrew her allegations."

"She withdrew?"

"Yah-hah."

"Even though Daya was her witness?"

"Yep."

"But why?"

"No clue," Washington admits. "All I know is that she withdrew her allegations and three months later she left the job."

"Entirely?"

"Apparently. I mean, she coulda transferred to another shift, but I'm pretty sure Daya said…"

Alex doesn't hear the rest of her partner's sentence. She doesn't immediately realise that her hands have curled into fists in her lap either, but they have. All of a sudden, the mystery surrounding Piper's shift transfer is becoming considerably clearer, and Alex finds herself furious as a result.

.

* * *

.

It's approaching eleven and there's an hour left of their shift when they receive a 10-58 assist ambulance call on West 129th. Washington flicks on lights and sirens and heads to the apartment building in question.

On arrival, the street is being blocked by an ambulance and they pull up behind it before heading up the steps into the building. On the second floor, they find Chapman and Diaz, bags at their feet, standing outside a locked door.

"Good evening ladies," Washington greets them cheerily. "How may we be of assistance?"

"We have to get in there," Piper replies, jerking her head towards the closed apartment door. "Now."

Her voice lacks patience and this is immediately apparent to both officers.

"What's going on?" Alex asks, trying the door knob and turning it only to find it locked, as if Piper and Daya wouldn't have already done so.

"Abandoned call," Diaz replies, "but we've been here before."

"Plenty," Piper adds.

"Give me the short version," Alex prompts.

Diaz shares the details. "Domestic violence. He beats her to a pulp, she calls us, refuses to let us call you. We patch her up, she heals, then the cycle begins again. Rinse and repeat, at least every two weeks."

Washington swears under her breath. A muscle in Alex's jaw twitches.

"And tonight?"

"We can't get in. She's not answering. We've been hammering on the door for twenty minutes," Piper explains.

"She always answers," Diaz adds.

"Name?" Alex asks.

"Mia. Mia Johnson."

Alex half-turns and hammers on the door with her fist, then shouts "NYPD. Open the door."

The four women stand in the hallway and listen intently. Not a sound comes from the apartment.

Alex hammers again. "Mia? Mia this is the Police. Open the door for us, Mia."

Again they wait. Nothing.

Alex looks back at Diaz. "Scale of one to ten, how worried are we about her right now?"

"Eleven," Piper replies without hesitation. Diaz nods her agreement.

Vause and Washington look at each other for less than a second, then Washington turns on her heel and hurries back to her patrol car. Alex keys her radio, a stream of numbers being verbalised rapidly as she updates Control on their status.

"Where's she…?" Piper starts, looking at Washington's retreating form.

"To get the crowbar," Diaz replies.

"Fuck the crowbar," Alex mutters as she finishes on the radio, then takes a step back to get a little momentum before slamming her boot against the door, just below the lock. The sound is like an explosion in the confined hallway and it ricochets up the stairwell as the wood splinters.

"Washington!" Alex shouts, calling her partner back into the building. She hears her sprinting back up the stairs and turns to the two medics. "Wait," she says, then points at both of them in turn, "I mean it. You stay put until we give you the all clear."

Given the tone of voice Alex is using, Piper doesn't think she dare do anything else. She nods quickly and Alex turns to Washington.

"Go?"

"Go."

After receiving confirmation from her partner that she's ready, Alex turns back to the door and gives it one more kick. The splintered wood gives way immediately and the door flies open, slamming into the wall. Both officers unholster their weapons and head into the apartment.

.

* * *

.

They find Mia unconscious on the floor in the living room beside an upturned bookcase, a splintered coffee table and a smashed vase. Washington feels for a pulse whilst Alex continues to clear the apartment. Once she's confirmed there's nobody else present, Alex returns to her partner who's crouched beside the victim, feeling for a pulse.

"Is she…?"

"I don't know," Washington admits. "I'm not certain."

Alex crouches beside Washington and places two fingers on Mia's neck as Washington moves away. She feels for a carotid pulse for a few seconds.

"Chapman, Diaz! Get in here!" Alex yells.

The paramedic and the EMT burst through the door and immediately stop short at the scene of destruction before them, and Alex crouched over Mia. Piper uses a hand to steady herself against the doorframe.

"Is she…?" Piper repeats the question Alex asked her partner just seconds earlier, but this time there's a note of dread lacing the two words.

Alex looks up at Piper and deliberately keeps her voice calm. "She has a pulse. It's weak and it's thready but it's there."

She scoots away from Mia, making some space, and Piper dumps her bag on the floor and immediately gets to work. On the other side of Mia's body, Diaz does the same.

The two police officers withdraw to the hallway, giving the medics space to work. They update control over the radio and call for a detective car to attend the scene. They both know that given the condition of the victim, this incident is going to be more than a 'routine' domestic incident, and even if she pulls through, Mia's not going to have a choice about police involvement and potential prosecution this time around.

.

* * *

.

Alex had been in bed and asleep for ninety minutes when she was woken by the ringing of her cellphone. She groped for it in the darkness and answered it, still more asleep than awake.

"Yeah?"

"Vause?"

"Yeah?"

"Wake up. You need to come here."

"Huh? What?"

"Now. You need to come here. Now."

"What? Who is this?"

She hears some quiet words muttered in Russian and although she doesn't speak a word of the language, certainly picks up on the exasperated tone and would guess those words were swearwords.

"Red?" she asks. "What? What's going on?"

"You are deaf now? Get up. You need to come here. Right now."

"Red, it's… I don't even know, it's the middle of the night…"

"It's two-forty. I know the time, do not insult me. This is important. You think I call you in middle of night because I have joke to tell you?"

More muttered curse words in Russian carry down the line. "Now, Alex. Diner. Now."

The line goes dead and Alex is left holding a silent phone to her ear. She tosses it back onto the bedside table and lets out a heavy sigh, then turns on her side and pulls the covers back over her, sleep seeming far more appealing than driving across the city. She closes her eyes and wriggles into position under the covers.

Ten seconds later she kicks them off and sits up.

"God-fucking-dammit," she mutters as she turns on the light and reaches for her clothes.

Red never ever uses her first name.

.

* * *

.

Alex pulls her bike off the road and wheels it onto the wide sidewalk in front of the diner. She removes her helmet and enters, approaching the counter.

It's a little after three a.m. and the diner is quiet, with less than half a dozen customers dotted around the tables. All appears calm and a niggle of irritation nips at Alex, wondering why she's been summoned here with such urgency.

Red exits the kitchen when she sees Alex approach the counter. She folds her arms across her chest and instead of speaking jerks her head to the right and looks in that direction. Alex follows her gaze, but sees nothing concerning.

"What?" she asks, looking back at Red.

Red sighs and tells Alex to look again. "Properly this time."

She does, and that's when she spots her. She has her back to Alex and to the door, but Alex sees her reflection in the large diner windows. She is slumped slightly in her seat, a full cup of coffee on the table in front of her, staring blankly at the empty seat opposite her. Piper Chapman.

Alex looks back at Red, frowning. "What's going on?"

Red shrugs. "She arrives before one. She has coffee. Same coffee still on the table."

"For more than two hours?"

"More than two hours," Red confirms. "No refill, no talking, no moving. Nothing. Staring like chair will dance for her if she looks hard enough."

"Damn," Alex murmurs.

"My chairs? They do not dance. So I called you. Important, see?"

"Yeah," Alex replies, still looking at Piper's reflection. "Yeah, you did the right thing. Thanks Red."

Red grunts an acknowledgment and returns to the kitchen. Alex remains standing for a few more seconds, watching the unmoving Piper Chapman, then makes a decision and walks outside to her bike.

When she returns, she's carrying two motorcycle helmets, not just her own. She approaches Piper's table and announces her arrival by placing one of them on the tabletop.

"C'mon Chapman, we're leaving."

Piper looks up, surprised, jolted immediately back to the present. "Alex! What…?"

"We're leaving," Alex repeats brusquely. She picks up the cold cup of coffee and takes it to the counter, then returns to Piper's table, where the other woman hasn't moved.

"I… I don't… I don't understand. What's happening?"

"I'm taking you home, that's what's happening."

"I… but… but, I…" Piper is a picture of confusion and this is reflected in her inability to form a coherent sentence.

Alex looks at her for a moment, then places both of her hands on the sides of the table and leans in slightly.

"Rule number one, Chapman," she says, her voice a little softer.

Piper looks away from Alex and swallows. "I don't know what you mean," she says.

"Bull_shit_ you don't know what I mean."

Tears begin to well in Piper's eyes but Alex continues.

"This is a good place. This _is_ the place to come, you're right. If it's the middle of the night and you want to beat yourself up and question your decisions and worry about jobs you've dealt with and people you've seen and you want to spend time second guessing whether you could've or should've done things differently, this _is_ the place to come."

Piper can't look at Alex as one tear overflows and rolls down her cheek.

"But rule number one, Piper," Alex continues, "you _don't_ do this shit on your own."

Piper swipes a hand across her cheek and swallows around the lump in her throat. She's still looking at nothing through the diner window, but she nods her head in understanding.

"So come on," Alex continues, her voice much softer. "I'm taking you home."

Piper takes a couple of seconds, then slides to the end of the bench seat. Alex moves back to allow the other woman room to stand and then helps her into her coat.

They exit the diner together, with Alex catching Red's eye and sending her an appreciative look on the way out. Red purses her lips, the closest Alex has ever seen to a smile, and nods her acknowledgment.

Once on the sidewalk, Alex puts her key in the bike's ignition and is about to put her helmet on when she catches sight of Piper, turning her own helmet over in her hands.

"Okay?" she asks.

"I, um, I've never been on a bike before," Piper admits. "A bicycle yes, but I'm guessing…" her voice trails off.

"Different, yes," Alex replies. "Come here."

She helps Piper into the helmet and tightens the chin strap, making sure it's secure. "Okay," she begins, "you sit here, obviously, and you put your feet here," pointing out the footpegs. She continues to point out different parts of the bike, "don't touch here, it's gonna get hot. Hold on here, this is a grab rail, but hold tight. Or hold onto me, whatever works. When the bike stops, keep your feet on the pegs, don't put them on the floor. When we corner, lean with the bike, don't fight it. It'll feel weird, but you have to trust me, lean with the bike."

Piper nods her understanding, looking at all of the parts of the bike Alex indicates.

"If you need me to stop, just tap twice on my right shoulder. Okay?"

"Okay," Piper replies, whilst simultaneously thinking that surely that would mean letting go with one hand, something she's not entirely certain she wants to do.

She lives a fifteen minute walk away. It's three a.m.. Surely this is only going to take a few minutes. She can do this. It'll be fine. Hold on, feet up, lean with the bike. Got it.

"Okay," she repeats with a little more conviction. "Got it."

Alex swings her leg over the bike first, then waits for Piper to do the same. She feels Piper's hands sit gently on her waist, and starts the engine. She looks back over her shoulder and nods at Piper. "I've got you. Just hold on."

.

* * *

.

After five minutes, Piper dares to open her eyes. She immediately closes them again.

After ten, she opens them again and recognises they're on the Parkway. It feels like they're travelling a million miles an hour. She closes them and holds Alex tighter.

After twenty, the bike slows and she opens her eyes again and realises they've turned into Alex's driveway.

Alex walks the bike along to the garage at the rear of the property, kills the engine, releases the kickstand, and removes her helmet.

Still taking the weight of both women and the bike she looks back. "You can let go now, Chapman."

Piper hears the amusement in Alex's voice and releases the deathgrip she has on her. The hands that started loosely on Alex's waist have turned to both arms wrapped tightly around her midriff, her body pressed up against the other woman.

Piper releases her and ungraciously manages to dismount from the bike. Alex leans the bike onto the kickstand then gets off. She threads a heavy security chain through the wheel and turns to face Piper, who's standing watching her, still wearing the motorcycle helmet.

Alex reaches up and loosens the chinstrap, then encourages Piper to remove the helmet. "Okay?" she asks.

"I thought you were taking me home," Piper replies.

"And I have," Alex responds simply. "Come on."

She climbs the steps to the rear porch then unlocks the door. Piper follows her in wordlessly.

Alex goes straight upstairs, leaving both helmets in the hallway near the front door. Piper follows. Alex pushes open one of the doors upstairs and flicks the light on, then continues walking. "Bathroom," she says, with no other comment.

She opens another door and enters, turning on a lamp beside a double bed. She closes the curtains and turns back to Piper who's hovering in the doorway.

"Take your coat off, Chapman. Make it look like you're staying."

Piper moves more into the room and starts to unbutton her coat as Alex squeezes past her and back into the hallway. She looks around the room, places her coat at the end of the bed, then sits on the bed and removes her shoes.

She hears the sound of running water from the shower, then looks up as Alex comes back into the room.

Alex picks up Piper's coat and hangs it on a hook on the rear of the bedroom door, then turns and drops some things on the end of the bed.

"I don't know what you sleep in, so there's a pair of pajama bottoms and a t-shirt there, and a couple of towels. The shower is on, and I've left a new toothbrush on the vanity in the bathroom. Go shower. I'll see you when you're done."

Piper still hasn't spoken a word since entering Alex's house, and doesn't have chance to respond now before Alex leaves again.

She sits quietly on the bed for a couple of minutes, before taking the things Alex has provided and moving into the bathroom.

Downstairs, Alex hears the change in the flow of the water from the shower and knows Piper has stepped under it. She reaches for her phone and sends a message to one of the cops working the night shift, then busies herself in the kitchen whilst waiting for the reply.

Vincent, confused by the unexpected activity at home during his favourite hunting time, clatters in through the cat flap and jumps up onto the table and watches her. Alex is too distracted to shoo him back to the floor as she usually does.

After ten minutes she hears the water in the bathroom stop. A few minutes after that, the bathroom door opens and she hears the old floorboard creak as Piper passes over it in the hallway. She gives it another few minutes and then makes her way upstairs, knocking gently on the door to the guest bedroom.

She hears Piper's quiet voice inviting her in, and pushes the door open.

Piper is seated on the edge of the bed again, hair still damp from the shower, brushed with the comb Alex had also left out in the bathroom. She's wearing the clothes Alex had put out for her. Both towels are draped over the radiator.

"I brought you some tea," Alex says, her voice soft.

"Thank you," Piper replies, then adds after a moment, "for all of this."

Alex moves around the bed and places the mug of tea on the bedside table, before plumping the pillows and pulling back the covers.

"In," she says, and Piper does as she's told.

Once she's seated in bed, Alex sits on the edge of it beside her and passes her the tea. Piper takes it gratefully and inhales deeply before taking a sip.

"Chamomile," Alex offers. She shrugs as she continues, "it's meant to be relaxing. Helps sleep. I don't know."

"It's perfect," Piper replies. "Thank you."

Alex nods, then both women fall silent.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Alex asks a few seconds later.

"Not really," Piper murmurs.

"Want to sit and brood instead and let your drink go cold?"

"Not really," Piper repeats, but with a slight smile this time.

"Want to talk about Salvador Dali and why you're so surprised that I have a liking for art?"

"That'd be preferable, but still no," Piper admits.

Alex lets another few seconds pass before speaking again. "Want me to leave you alone and we'll talk in the morning?"

Piper is quick to respond this time, shaking her head in the negative. "No," she says, "please, I don't want you to go."

"I'm only in the room next door, Pipes," Alex smiles. "I'm not going far."

"Please," Piper repeats. "I don't want to be on my own."

Alex looks at the other woman for a couple of seconds, then nods her head once and stands. She moves slowly around to the other side of the bed, then adjusts the pillows against the headboard and slides onto the bed beside Piper, sitting on top of the covers.

"C'mere," Alex says, lifting her arm and encouraging Piper to move in closer. Piper does, leaning in as Alex drapes her arm around her shoulders.

They sit in silence for a couple of minutes, Piper sipping her tea, Alex holding her gently. The silence is broken by the sound of Alex's phone vibrating in her jeans pocket. Piper frowns as Alex shifts her position slightly to pull out her phone and check the screen.

Piper has no idea what time it is, but is guessing it's got to be somewhere around four. She wonders who would consider it reasonable to be sending messages at that time of night, but keeps quiet.

Alex reads the message on her phone, then replaces it in the back pocket of her jeans.

"So this thing you don't want to talk about," Alex begins, "does that include not wanting to know how Mia Johnson is?"

Piper looks up at her quickly, her eyes wide and questioning.

"That was a message from one of the cops who went up to the hospital with her," Alex explains.

"Is she…?" Piper whispers, not able to finish the question for the second time tonight.

"Out of surgery and stable? Yes. Yes she is."

"Ohmygod!" Piper blurts, then promptly bursts into tears.

"Heyyyy, hey come on," Alex says, leaning across to remove the cup of tea from Piper's hands. She twists to place the cup on the bedside table, then turns back to Piper. "Come on," she murmurs, "it's okay. It's all gonna be okay."

Piper turns into Alex, pressing her cheek against the other woman's shoulder as she cries. Tears of relief mixed with regret and anger and a cascade of other emotions she can't put a name to. Alex tightens her arm around her shoulders and makes shushing noises into her still-damp hair.

After a few minutes, Piper's tears begin to subside and Alex listens as her breathing gradually returns to normal. She doesn't move, arm still around her shoulders, other hand slowly stroking her hair soothingly. "It's all going to be okay," she repeats, her voice no more than a whisper, then presses her lips gently to Piper's hair.

After another few minutes, Piper's breathing has changed again, this time her breaths are slow and deep and regular, and Alex knows she's fallen asleep.

"Attagirl," she murmurs.

She considers trying to ease away from Piper and leaving her to sleep, but Piper's arm is across her waist and two fingers are hooked into a belt loop on her jeans, keeping her in place. Whilst Alex probably _could_ manage to disentangle herself and move away, she acknowledges to herself that she doesn't really _want_ to.

Instead, she twists slightly and turns off the bedside lamp. The first signs of the morning light are trying to creep into the gaps at the ends of the curtains, but Alex ignores them as she settles against Piper and waits for sleep to find her, too.


	9. Chapter 9

"So this thing you don't want to talk about," Alex begins, "does that include not wanting to know how Mia Johnson is?"

Piper looks up at her quickly, her eyes wide and questioning.

"That was a message from one of the cops who went up to the hospital with her," Alex explains.

"Is she…?" Piper whispers, not able to finish the question for the second time tonight.

"Out of surgery and stable? Yes. Yes she is."

"Ohmygod!" Piper blurts, then promptly bursts into tears.

"Heyyyy, hey come on," Alex says, leaning across to remove the cup of tea from Piper's hands. She twists to place the cup on the bedside table, then turns back to Piper. "Come on," she murmurs, "it's okay. It's all gonna be okay."

Piper turns into Alex, pressing her cheek against the other woman's shoulder as she cries. Tears of relief mixed with regret and anger and a cascade of other emotions she can't put a name to. Alex tightens her arm around her shoulders and makes shushing noises into her still-damp hair.

After a few minutes, Piper's tears begin to subside and Alex listens as her breathing gradually returns to normal. She doesn't move, arm still around her shoulders, other hand slowly stroking her hair soothingly. "It's all going to be okay," she repeats, her voice no more than a whisper, then presses her lips gently to Piper's hair.

After another few minutes, Piper's breathing has changed again, this time her breaths are slow and deep and regular, and Alex knows she's fallen asleep.

"Attagirl," she murmurs.

She considers trying to ease away from Piper and leaving her to sleep, but Piper's arm is across her waist and two fingers are hooked into a belt loop on her jeans, keeping her in place. Whilst Alex probably _could_ manage to disentangle herself and move away, she acknowledges to herself that she doesn't really _want_ to.

Instead, she twists slightly and turns off the bedside lamp. The first signs of the morning light are trying to creep into the gaps at the ends of the curtains, but Alex ignores them as she settles against Piper and waits for sleep to find her, too.

.

* * *

.

When Piper wakes she's initially disorientated, but it only takes a few seconds for the events of the previous evening to come flooding back to her. She lies in bed for another minute listening for signs of life in the house, but hears none.

She throws back the covers and sits on the edge of the bed before rising and heading into the bathroom. After washing her face and brushing her teeth, she returns to the bedroom and dresses in her clothes from the previous day, then makes the bed and leaves her loaned pyjamas folded on the end of it.

She makes her way downstairs and into the kitchen, where she finds the back door propped open. She ventures outside and finds Alex on the suspended love seat, using her foot against the porch rail to rock herself slowly. She's reading, a book open in her lap and a cup of coffee in her hand.

"Morning," Piper says, her voice quiet.

Alex looks up and checks her watch before replying "Only just," with a smile.

It's a few minutes before midday and Piper is genuinely surprised when she realises this.

"There's coffee in the pot," Alex says. "Help yourself."

Piper hesitates for just a moment, then returns to the kitchen and pours herself a mug of coffee.

"There's a fruit loaf in the cupboard above your head if you want some toast," Alex says from the kitchen doorway, her proximity making Piper jump. She moves to the fridge and pulls open the door, peering inside it. "Or I have eggs and bacon if you want to try brinner again."

Piper turns and watches Alex for a moment as she studies the contents of the fridge. "Coffee is good," she replies. "Thank you."

Alex backs away from the fridge and swings the door closed again.

Piper remains standing, leaning back against the kitchen cupboard, cradling her mug of coffee.

Alex looks at her, then jerks her head as she moves towards the door again. "Come," she says, "sit," then heads back outside.

When Piper joins her a few seconds later, Alex has moved from the love seat to one of the two chairs on the porch. Piper takes the remaining seat and watches Vincent as he pads slowly along the porch rail before jumping down and curling up at Alex's feet.

"How're you doing?" Alex asks, tilting her head to the side slightly as she studies Piper.

Piper shrugs and takes a sip of coffee. "I'm okay," she replies. "I'm still not totally sure how I ended up here, but I think I'm okay."

Alex smiles and rubs Vincent's belly with her toe. "People care about you, Piper. There are people who look out for you, even when you don't realise it. And when those people are concerned about you, they call people like me."

Piper looks up from watching Vincent curling himself around Alex's foot and looks a question at her.

"They call even when it's almost three in the morning. And people like me? We also care about you and that's why we come to you. And even though I should be kicking your ass, I'm more concerned with checking you're really okay."

Piper's gaze drifts back to Vincent again.

"We see things and we do things and we deal with things every day that trouble us, Pipes," Alex continues, her voice softer. "We deal with things that no person should ever have to see or deal with, but we do it because we have to, because we're professionals."

Piper nods her head, but still doesn't lift her gaze.

"But never lose sight of the fact that we're people too. We're allowed to be affected by the things that we see and do, and whilst yeah, we might become hardened to it and sometimes it's like water off a duck's back, and we make inappropriate jokes and deal with it all with a dark sense of humour, this shit catches up with you eventually. And that's okay, because we're people too. But when that happens, we have to lean on the people around us who understand. We have to call on the support of the people who also experience it, the people who _get it_, and we _share_ that decompression. We do it together, Pipes."

Piper nods her head again, but still doesn't reply.

"We're a team, Chapman. Don't ever think you have to do this on your own."

Piper lifts her head and Alex watches a solitary tear roll down her cheek. Piper brushes it away with her thumb, but not before Alex has spotted it.

"Hey," Alex says, scooting to the edge of her seat and leaning forward. She reaches out and places a hand on Piper's knee, then rubs her thumb back and forth slowly. "It's okay."

Piper nods her head again but can't meet Alex's eye. As Alex waits, a comforting hand still on the other woman's knee, another tear falls and splashes off the back of her hand.

Alex frowns and murmurs "Ah, Piper…" then moves from her seat and kneels on the wooden deck in front of Piper's chair, wrapping her arms around her.

Piper presses her face into Alex's shoulder and cries quietly, her own arms hanging limply and hands folded in her lap.

After a couple of minutes Piper's tears begin to subside, but she doesn't pull away, allowing herself to be held and comforted.

"I sometimes think I'm not cut out for this work," Piper says a few seconds later, her voice rough.

"Nonsense," Alex replies. "Why? Because you care? In my book, that makes you perfect for this line of work."

Piper pulls back and wipes her cheeks with her hands.

"Cut yourself some slack, Pipes. Remember you're a person too."

Piper nods her head and looks up at Alex. "Thank you," she murmurs.

Alex retakes her seat.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," Piper says. "Can I blame PMS?"

Alex smiles. "You can blame whatever you like. If you'd like it to be our secret that you're actually human and not a robot and have feelings like real people do, that's okay. I can keep your secret."

Piper lets out a short little laugh.

"But if that's the deal, then you have to give me something too."

"Oh?" Piper asks, looking across at Alex.

"You have to give me your word that you'll call me next time, and not take yourself off to Red's and try to deal with this shit on your own."

"I think I can do that," Piper responds with a half-smile.

"You'd better," Alex replies. "Because whilst I'm happy to cut you some slack this time, if there's a next time I really will kick your ass."

.

* * *

.

When Alex arrives at work for her night shift, it's after dropping Piper off at Station 16 on the way. They had spent the rest of the day doing very little; talking, making dinner together, resting before their shift started and preparing for another long night ahead.

"You're early," Washington remarks when she arrives at the 26th and finds her partner already kitted up for the shift.

"I'm just _that_ keen," Alex replies. "See you up there."

They're kept busy for the majority of their shift, bounced from one job to the next. Drunks and fights, a robbery at an all-night diner, two minor road traffic collisions and three arrests. It's a varied night, and morning comes around quickly. They finish their shift in the bowels of Central Booking after dealing with their last prisoner, and it's full daylight when they finally emerge and head back to the 26th to clock off.

Alex arrives home soon after 8am and takes a quick shower to wash off the grime of the nightshift. Some of her colleagues, she knows, stay up for a few hours after finishing a night shift and go to bed mid-morning, meaning they get a solid eight hours sleep and then an hour at home before having to go back to work, but she's never been able to do that. She doesn't even eat once she's home, she just showers and heads straight to bed. She finds night shifts particularly draining, the disruption to her circadian rhythm hits her hard, and this is the main reason she often avoids the post-nightshift breakfasts that Washington frequently invites her to. She knows that if she doesn't go to bed within an hour or so of finishing work, she'll get two hours' sleep max and will be a total bitch for the next two days.

She closes both the blind and the blackout curtains she has in her bedroom and slides into bed, pulling the covers up over her shoulders. It's been more than thirty hours since she was last here, having had her last full night of sleep interrupted when she went to collect Piper and then spending a few short hours in the guest room with her. She pulls the covers tight around her, snuggles down into her pillow, closes her eyes and lets out a long, tired sigh.

Twenty minutes later she's lying in the same position, but still wide awake, and now irritated at herself and her inability to fall asleep despite the tiredness weighing her down. She rolls onto her back and rubs her hands over her face, then sits up and swings her legs out of bed. She reaches for her phone, opens her contacts and calls the person who is occupying her thoughts and preventing her from sleeping.

It's answered almost immediately. "Hey," Piper says, her voice sounding as tired as Alex feels. "Alex, hi."

"Hey Pipes. You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm in bed, actually, but was reading a book on my phone. Sleep doesn't want to take me just yet it seems."

"I know the feeling," Alex replies. She rubs a thumb and forefinger across her closed eyelids, then pinches the bridge of her nose. "I'm just checking in, seeing how you're doing. How was work?"

"Thank you, I appreciate it. It was okay, one of those weird nights. We only had three shouts all night."

"For real?" Alex is surprised, given the hectic nature of her own shift. She pulls her legs back up onto the bed and shifts under her covers, lying down again.

"Yeah. We even had time to look in on Mia Johnson when we were over at Mount Sinai earlier."

"Yeah? How's she doing?"

"You need to ask?" Piper replies with a smile. "The way I heard it, you're getting regular updates from the cops on her door."

"Mmmyeah," Alex replies, a little embarrassed at Piper's knowledge of this fact. "Well I _was_, but those updates stopped around 5am, so…"

"She's doing well," Piper offers. "Extubated yesterday evening, breathing spontaneously, it's all looking positive."

"Ah yeah, I heard they took the tubes out. That's good. She still sedated?"

"She is, but they're dialling that back this morning. If that goes well, she should be awake again later today."

"Awesome. Let's hope she is."

"Of course, I'm sure you'll hear how it's gone before I do, so keep me posted please." Alex can hear the smile in Piper's voice.

"Ah probably not, my updates have stopped now there's no longer anyone on her door."

"There's nobody on her door? But there was a cop there when we stopped by."

"That must've been before 5am, right?"

"Yeah. I think it was around three-thirty, four o'clock maybe when we were there. I don't understand. Why is there nobody guarding her anymore?" The concern in Piper's voice is obvious.

"Diaz didn't tell you?"

"What? No? Tell me what?"

Alex pauses for a moment and looks up at the ceiling. Her voice is soft when she replies. "She's not at risk anymore, Pipes. We got him."

Alex listens to the silence on the line and is about to check Piper's still there when she hears her voice, very quietly, not more than a whisper. "You got him?"

"Yeah," Alex confirms. "Yes. He's in jail."

Piper doesn't reply, but Alex can hear her breathing so continues. "Five blocks from his home address, ten after five this morning. We spotted his car outside a Dunkin in West Harlem, parked a little ways down the street and waited for him to come out."

"You got him," Piper says again, this time a statement not a question.

"We did. He's sitting in Central right now. Should be before the judge just before lunch." Alex pauses, then adds "Or maybe just after. He, uh," she pauses and clears her throat then continues "he had a little accident, might've bust his nose, needs to see the nurse and get patched up before court."

"Oh no," Piper says, deadpan. "How unfortunate. How did that happen?"

"I think he's just clumsy," Alex replies, suppressing a smile. "It was when I was cuffing him, he overbalanced and bounced his face off the roof of the cruiser. Unfortunate, like you said."

"Such a pity," Piper replies with absolutely no sincerity whatsoever. Then, with a smile apparent in her voice, "Nice work."

"I thought you knew, honestly. Washington texted Diaz to tell her when we were en route to Central."

"Ah no, she didn't have her phone tonight. It's a thing we're trying. Leaving our phones in our lockers for the shift."

"I do that when I'm avoiding people," Alex admits. "Who're you avoiding?"

"Daya, bizarrely," Piper replies. "I'm avoiding her being able to watch over my shoulder whenever I take my phone out and read the damn thing."

"Ahhh yeah. I might've heard something about that."

"Oh?"

"Mmm. _Apparently_, you have someone saved in your phone as '_Hot Cop_'."

Alex grins as she hears a quiet giggle over the line.

"I can't believe they've told you this," Piper replies, but she's smiling. Alex can hear it.

"And I can't believe you haven't changed it to my actual name!"

"Weeeeell, I was going to," Piper begins, "and then I thought…"

Alex waits. When Piper hasn't continued a couple of seconds later, she prompts her. "You thought?"

Although Alex can't see it, Piper is twisting her hair around her finger as she answers and she has the smallest of smiles on her face. "I thought, well, at least it's on the level."

"On the level?"

"You _are_ a cop,"

"Mmm," Alex confirms, realising where this is going.

"And you _are_," Piper pauses, dragging it out, her voice considerably lower when she continues, "extra-ordin-arily hot."

Alex laughs quietly. "Okay, I'm gonna go, Chapman."

"Aww, but-"

"But nothing," Alex cuts her off. "I need sleep and you need sleep before we're both back in work tonight, and I'm going to be sensible and hang up now."

"You're no fun," Piper replies, but there's a smile in her voice.

"We'll see about that," Alex says, "maybe on the weekend?"

"The weekend?"

"Yeah. Are you free?"

"You mean my first full weekend off since transferring in? No, honestly, I'm not. I have plans."

"Ah, never mind." Alex tries to keep the disappointment from her voice. "Another time."

"I'm going to my parents' on Saturday, staying all weekend. My brother will be there with his wife and my new niece. I haven't met her yet and am overdue a cuddle."

"Of course. I've been meaning to ask if the baby put in an appearance."

"Yep, Sunday night when we were at the game."

"Good job he decided to skip the game then, and avoided that divorce." Alex replies, smiling.

"Right? She'd never have forgiven him. So I'm driving up there on Saturday morning, staying until Monday."

"Cool, that's good. You have fun, yeah?"

"I'll try my best. What did you have in mind anyway, if I was free this weekend?"

"Well now you'll never know, will you."

"Aww," Piper starts. "That's not fair…"

"What's not fair is you leaving the city on my first full weekend off in two and a half months. Abandoning the city, and everything in it. Including me."

"You don't even live in the city!" Piper replies, laughing.

"Don't split hairs, Chapman. You're abandoning me. _Deserting_ me, even."

"I promise I'll make it up to you when I'm back," Piper says, deliberately lowing her tone.

"I'll keep you to that," Alex smiles. "G'night, Chapman."

"Night, Al."

.

* * *

.

Alex wakes a little before six in the evening, having slept the whole day away. She wakes feeling refreshed and ready to face her last night shift of the set.

She showers, dresses and makes brinner then spends a couple of hours watching a show on Netflix that everyone seems to be talking about before heading back over the bridge and into work.

Washington is already in the briefing room when Alex arrives. Once changed into her uniform, she heads up there and sinks into the chair beside her partner.

"You good?" Washington asks.

"I'm good. I slept _so_ well today."

"Thank fuck for that. You were grumpy as hell last night."

"I don't know how I got through last night, honestly. I can't remember the last time I was that tired. I think I was running on pure caffeine by the time we clocked off."

"Did you hear our boy got remanded?"

"No! Ah good. That's great news."

"Yep, he's spending his first night of many in Rikers."

"I was hoping he'd get pretrial detention, but you just never know how these things are going to go. It's a relief the judge saw it the same as us for once."

"Yeah, at least his wife can focus on her recovery without worrying he's coming back to finish the job any time soon."

"Any update on her?" Alex asks.

"Nuh uh. I think they were going to try waking her up today, but I haven't heard how that went. Pretty sure Daya will find out and let us know though. She stopped by the hospital last night to see how she was doing."

"Yeah I know," Alex replies without thinking.

"Huh?" Washington looks at her partner, wondering how she would know this already.

Alex realises her error immediately and mentally slaps herself. "Yeah I, ah, I know one of the nurses at Sinai. She texted me and said a couple of paramedics had stopped by in the night. Guessed it might have been Daya and, uh, um, her partner."

"Chapman," Washington prompts her.

"That's right. Chapman. Yeah. That's it."

Alex knows her partner is watching her with a frown, and deliberately doesn't look at her. The vacant chair next to her is then taken by Rodriguez from the Edward patrol and Alex is relieved to have someone else to turn her attention to. Rodriguez is waiting for his wife to give birth to their third child any day now, and they talk about how she's doing until the briefing begins.

The shift ticks along with the usual selection of jobs from the moment they're released from briefing until two-fourteen a.m. when the radio crackles into life and the 26-David patrol are dispatched to a 10-10-Sam in Harlem, right on the edge of their patch.

The two officers exchange a glance and Washington throws a u-turn as Alex acknowledges the shots-fired call and lets dispatch know they're en route. 26-Edward and 26-Frank are also directed to the same incident and all three patrols converge on the area.

It's 26-David who arrive first, having only been three blocks away when the call came in. It only takes a moment for them to notice that they're second on scene behind Diaz and Chapman's ambulance though. Washington brings the cruiser to a halt alongside the ambulance and both officers exit their vehicle and survey the surprisingly quiet scene.

Other than Diaz in the back of the ambulance quickly gathering supplies, the only other movement on the street is thirty feet ahead, where Chapman is knelt on the sidewalk tending to a prone figure.

"I don't like this," Washington says, letting her eyes drift across the deserted street. "Where the fuck is everybody?"

"It's too quiet," Alex agrees. "What's going on here?"

Usually when they're called to reports of shots fired, they arrive to find a busy scene with people everywhere. Shouting at each other or crowded around a victim or fighting in the street, but never anything like this.

"Chase that backup," Alex says over her shoulder to her partner, as she draws her weapon from its holster and starts to make her way over to where the paramedic is kneeling alongside her patient.

She hears Washington's voice immediately speaking over the radio, and she kneels on the other side of the victim to the paramedic when she reaches them.

"Pipes," Alex says by way of greeting, looking down at the man lying between them. "Sitrep?"

"There's something off here, Al," is Piper's immediately reply, not even looking up at the police officer as she applies pressure to one of several gunshot wounds to the victim's torso.

No sooner have the words left Piper's lips than the sound of an approaching car engine infiltrates their awareness. Alex thinks it's one of the other police patrols arriving and Piper hopes it's a second paramedic crew, as she's fighting a losing battle with this patient.

There's a screech of tyres against pavement as the vehicle takes the corner of the street at too fast a speed and it's this that catches Washington's attention at the other end of the block. She turns from trying to help Diaz drag the gurney out of the ambulance just in time to see the dark sedan with unlit headlights straighten up and accelerate. Time seems to slow as she watches a window roll down and the unmistakeable barrel of an automatic rifle appear in the space.

Washington screams "Gun!" a split second before the trigger is pulled and a stream of fire and bullets spit from the barrel and spew forth in the direction of the two emergency services workers trying to help the victim on the floor.

Alex hears the panicked voice of her partner a microsecond before she hears the gunfire, and doesn't even turn to look at what's happening. Her instincts kick in and she immediately hurls herself forward, leaping over the prostrate victim and barging into the paramedic opposite, knocking her backwards as a barrage of 5.56x45mm bullets fly past at a rate of 800 rounds per minute.

As Alex throws herself forward, she angles her body slightly, presenting her back to the danger as she leaps towards Piper, shielding her. Her right hand instinctively cups the back of Piper's head, her left still holds her service Glock. The two women land heavily on the sidewalk, all of the skin on Alex's knuckles being sacrificed to the sidewalk gods as they slide across the rough surface, her hand protecting Piper's head from the impact.

Alex lands on top of Piper and pulls the other woman against her, shielding her from the unyielding volley of hot lead that slams into the wall above them. She releases her service weapon and keys her radio, shouting a stream of numbers into the handset, reporting the current situation and demanding backup, all whilst clutching Piper tightly against her.

The torrent of bullets from the automatic weapon ceases, and Alex can hear for the first time the sound of repeated, evenly spaced, carefully placed bullets being fired as the sedan passes her abandoned patrol car and her partner unloads her own weapon at the vehicle as it retreats.

The sounds of multiple sirens all converging on them grow louder and Alex chances a look over her shoulder. She sees her partner empty her weapon into the retreating vehicle, then look towards her.

"Vause?" Washington yells, as she starts to run in her direction.

"All good." Alex calls, and raises her hand. "All good," she repeats.

She picks up and holsters her Glock, finally releasing her hold on Piper. She looks down at the other woman as she lifts away from her.

"You're good, yeah? All good?"

Piper looks stunned, and shakes her head in the negative as she hears herself say "Yes. Yeah, yes. All good."

"Are you hurt?" Alex asks, concern painting her features.

"No. No I don't think… I'm okay, I… I'm okay, I..." she pauses, and looks up at Alex. "What did you… you just… what did you…?"

Before Alex can reply, Washington skids to a halt beside them, closely followed by Diaz. Alex lifts off Piper and starts to push herself to her feet. Washington grabs hold of her forearm and hauls her up.

"You okay?"

Alex looks down at her skinned right hand and shakes it out. "I'm good, just a graze."

The once-quiet street is beginning to fill with police vehicles, a second Ambulance arrives, closely followed by a third. Diaz kneels beside Piper for a moment before helping her up. The blonde looks dazed, but otherwise unharmed.

The second paramedic crew hurry over and Piper directs them to the original victim. It only takes a few seconds for all of the parties to realise that he's now expired.

It's only when Washington claps her partner on the shoulder as they start to move back towards their car and receives an immediate stream of curse words in response that they realise all is not as it first seemed.

Washington's hand feels wet and when she looks down, the blood that covers it glistens in the hazy light of the streetlamp. Her gaze slowly moves back to her partner, and to her upper arm. The tear in her uniform shirt is obvious, but it's only when Washington pulls her flashlight out of her tac-vest and shines it on Alex's arm that the blood streaming down her arm becomes visible.

"Mother_fucker_, Vause. You're hit!"

Alex thinks that it's weird. Her grazed and skinless right hand was stinging, but that was the only pain she felt. Right up until the moment her partner points out the gunshot wound to her upper left arm. Now it's been pointed out to her, it feels like _fire_.

Daya, Piper and the other two paramedics all turn toward the two cops in response to Washington's exclamation.

"I'm okay," Alex is quick to reassure everybody. "I'm okay, it's just a graze."

"Let me take a look at that," Daya says, taking a couple of steps toward her.

"I'm okay," Alex repeats. Her eyes find Piper's and she says it again, then turns to Daya. "Take care of your partner, Diaz. She isn't looking too good."

Daya turns back to look at a very pale Piper Chapman, who seems to have lost all of her colour since becoming aware of Alex's injury.

Alex turns to the other two paramedics who have just formally pronounced life extinct on the first victim, then looks over at the third ambulance and starts to walk in that direction, Washington by her side.

An hour and forty minutes later, she's given her report to a number of senior officers and she's had her wounds cleaned and dressed. Her upper arm has sustained a flesh wound where she's been caught by a passing bullet, but it's only taken a couple of stitches to close the wound and she knows she's been very lucky to get off so lightly.

She's sitting on the edge of the back of the ambulance when her partner comes back to her, having gone to check on Daya and Piper a few minutes earlier.

"How're you doing?"

"Yeah I'm good," Alex replies. "My hand is still stinging, but I'm good. Chapman okay?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She's a little dazed. Confused. Grateful."

"Grateful?"

"I'm not sure grateful is the right term, or whether 'in awe' would be more accurate."

Alex just looks confused.

"You saved her life, Vause. No denying it. She doesn't quite know how to react to that."

"Nah, I didn't, I just…"

"Shielded her from a volley of bullets using your own body to protect her?"

"Pfft, you make it sound way more serious than it actually was," Alex protests, downplaying her partners description of events, despite its accuracy.

"You think she'd have hit the deck in time if you hadn't done that?"

Alex thinks about this for a second, and screws her face up.

"Exactly." Washington says.

"It was just instinct," Alex says, "I heard you and I heard the shots and I just…" she trails off. "Instinct," she shrugs.

"I know. I get that. But in acting on instinct, you prevented her from taking a bullet and took one yourself for your trouble."

"I think saying I _took a bullet_ is stretching things, P. I got two sutures and an industrial sized band-aid. I think we're on safe ground calling this a superficial injury."

"Whatever you want to call it, she's struggling to get her head around it."

Alex looks across at the other ambulance. "She'll be okay. I'm sure Diaz is busy telling her what an asshole I am and how she's lucky I didn't give her a head injury or crush her ribs, knocking her over like that."

Washington chuckles. "But she's doing it with love in her heart, so that makes it okay, right?"

Alex grins. "Right. Sure. Of course."

"C'mon, let's get you home. Did the L-T speak with you?"

"Yeah, said something about hoping I'm not wanting a commendation for this, as I'm leaving him one double-crew short for the remainder of the shift and all hell is breaking loose."

"Did he say it with love in his heart, though?" Washington grins.

"Since when did the L-T have a fucking _heart_?"

"Good point, well made. Let's just go before he thinks better of it and tells you to resume patrol."

.

* * *

.

Washington takes her partner back to the station house and waits for her to change into her civvies before driving her home. She pulls the patrol vehicle into her driveway and kills the engine.

"Shall I blast the lights and sirens, see if we can catch all your neighbours' attention with an early morning wake up call?"

"Don't you dare!" Alex immediately replies. "It's barely five a.m."

"It's five-thirty. They should be getting up soon anyway."

"Seriously, don't. Just let me out and go, okay?"

"You're not inviting me in?"

"Correct. I'm not inviting you in."

"After I drove you all the way out here? That's the gratitude I get?"

"I'm grateful. Truly, I am. But right now, I want to take a shower, then take these two magic pills that your girlfriend slipped me, and then collapse into bed and sleep for three days."

"Three days? Shit, what pills did she give you? Ket?"

Alex grins and pushes open her car door. "Thanks for the ride, P. Appreciate it."

"You take care of yourself, okay?"

Alex swings her legs out of the car but looks back at her partner. "I will."

"And you call me if you need anything. You know I'm around."

"I do know that. Enjoy your rest days, I'll catch you next week. But I promise I'll call if I need to."

"Take care, Al."

Alex smiles at her partner's use of her first name, something that happens once in a blue moon. She leans back into the car and exchanges a fist bump with her partner, before slamming the door closed and walking the rest of the way up her driveway.

Washington restarts the engine and backs out of the drive and into the street before driving away. Alex pauses to stroke Vincent who has appeared from nowhere and is now winding himself between her legs, then straightens as a set of headlights sweep into her driveway again.

She turns, wondering what Washington has forgotten, only to see a familiar little red hatchback coming to a halt where the cruiser was parked only moments ago. She stays in her position adjacent to the deck and leans against the rail as she watches Piper climb out of her car.

"Hey," she greets the other woman in the half-light, trying to keep the note of surprise from her voice.

"Hey," Piper replies as she slowly approaches.

"You okay?"

"No," Piper replies. "I'm not, Alex. I'm not okay."

Alex frowns, her eyebrows drawing together in concern. "What is it? What do you need?"

"What do I _need_?"

Alex doesn't reply, she just watches the other woman approach.

Piper stops right in front of her, and Alex pushes herself off the rail.

"What do I _need_?" Piper repeats, her voice soft and quiet.

Alex nods, her eyes fixed on the other woman who is now standing so close there's no longer any concept of both having their own personal space.

"I _need_," she murmurs, moving closer still, "this."

She breathes the final word against Alex's lips, then closes the remaining gap and kisses her. Her lips press against Alex's and her hand moves up to cup the other woman's jaw. Alex takes a moment to respond, caught by surprise, but she leans into the kiss after only a second and covers Piper's hand with her own.

Not for the first time tonight, Alex feels like time is slowing. She becomes hyperaware of everything around her – the sounds of the birds waking in the trees that border her garden, the gentle breeze rustling the leaves, the faint smell of vanilla mixed with cherry lip balm that she's come to associate with Piper. The sensation of Piper's lips as they press against her own, then the warm and soft touch of her tongue as it moves along Alex's bottom lip.

Alex lets out a soft gasp and in doing so, her lips part and Piper's tongue is granted entry. Piper uses every ounce of her resolve to keep things slow, but she immediately deepens the kiss and pushes her tongue into the previously unexplored warmth of Alex's mouth.

Alex curls her fingers around Piper's wrist and angles her head, allowing the kiss to deepen naturally. She brings her other hand to Piper's waist and pulls the other woman closer, their hips flush and tight against each other. Piper's tongue brushes against her own and a soft moan escapes her.

Piper breaks the kiss when she hears Alex moan, but only for a second. Once reassured that the moan was borne from pleasure and not pain, she immediately kisses her again, this time with a little more force. Alex responds in kind, her eyebrows drawing together as she kisses Piper harder, vaguely aware of the movement of Piper's other hand to her waist, tugging her t-shirt up under her jacket, her fingers seeking skin.

Piper's fingers find the soft warmth of Alex's skin and she pulls herself still closer, pressing up against the other woman, as close as she can yet still not quite close enough. She doesn't think she'll ever be able to get close enough to satisfy the need that's burning inside her, but then she manages to push a thigh between Alex's legs and the immediate response this provokes from her is enough to convince Piper she may have been mistaken.

The sound that escapes Alex as Piper's thigh makes contact with her centre, even through her jeans and underwear, is one she can never recall making before. It's a cross between a whimper and a whine, carried by a sob. She'd be embarrassed to have made it if she wasn't so totally consumed by Piper and the feeling of wet warmth that was rushing to the point of contact between her legs right at that moment.

Alex breaks the kiss and looks down at Piper, breathing heavily and still holding her tightly. Her voice is rough and gravelly when she finally finds it. "Inside," she says. "We gotta go inside. Right now."

Piper allows herself a small smile, then places the softest most gentle of kisses on the delicate skin under Alex's jaw.

"Yes," she murmurs. "I think we should."


	10. Chapter 10

**AN: This update has taken considerably longer to get to you than I'd hoped. For those of you who don't know [or who don't stalk me – you know who you are! ;)] I'm a nurse. I work in the NHS in England, and I'm sure you can imagine that at the moment with the COVID-19 pandemic, it doesn't matter what area of nursing you work in, you don't stop, you get pulled in, and the days are never ending. I usually work a 40hr week, this week so far I've worked 70 and I have another two days to go before I get a day off. I'm going to be up to 90hrs when I finish.**

**I'm telling you this only so you know where I'm at. I get really very uncomfortable when people say nice things, particularly about my job, so _please don't_! This isn't about that. It's about you knowing that whilst I'm grateful to you for all your comments, reviews, messages and requests for updates, this is what I have going on right now. This is what we all have going on right now. So if I'm running a little later with an update than you'd ideally like, this is why. I'll get the updates to you as soon as I can, un-proofread and probably full of mistakes, but you're going to have to cut me a bit of slack right now. Sorry.**

**I do wish some of you Guests would get accounts, btw. There are some of you I'd love to respond to directly but can't. Drives me mad!**

**Anyway. Stay safe, okay? All of you.  
****Stay home, stay safe, and take care of yourselves. This shit is real.**

**Here. Have a fully M rated update to take your mind off things. x**

* * *

.

Piper breaks the kiss when she hears Alex moan, but only for a second. Once reassured that the moan was borne from pleasure and not pain, she immediately kisses her again, this time with a little more force. Alex responds in kind, her eyebrows drawing together as she kisses Piper harder, vaguely aware of the movement of Piper's other hand to her waist, tugging her t-shirt up under her jacket, her fingers seeking skin.

Piper's fingers find the soft warmth of Alex's side and she pulls herself still closer, pressing up against the other woman, as close as she can yet still not quite close enough. She doesn't think she'll ever be able to get close enough to satisfy the need that's burning inside her, but then she manages to push a thigh between Alex's legs and the immediate response this provokes from her is enough to convince Piper she may have been mistaken.

The sound that escapes Alex as Piper's thigh makes contact with her centre, even through her jeans and underwear, is one she can never recall making before. It's a cross between a whimper and a whine, carried by a sob. She'd be embarrassed to have made it if she wasn't so totally consumed by Piper and the feeling of wet warmth that was rushing to the point of contact between her legs right at that moment.

Alex breaks the kiss and looks down at Piper, breathing heavily and still holding her tightly. Her voice is rough and gravelly when she finally finds it. "Inside," she says. "We gotta go inside. Right now."

Piper allows herself a small smile, then places the softest most gentle of kisses on the delicate skin under Alex's jaw.

"Yes," she murmurs. "I think we should."

.

* * *

.

Alex takes hold of Piper's hand and pulls her the rest of the way along the driveway, then up the steps and onto the porch. She releases her only when she has to check all of her pockets looking for her keys.

As she tries to slide the key into the lock, she's aware of Piper's close proximity and it takes her four attempts before she finally manages to fumble her way through unlocking the door. She enters the kitchen with Piper close behind her, and the door bangs shut behind them both.

The banging of the door is echoed by the banging of Alex's back as it hits the cupboard behind her, and Piper is upon her again. Their kiss is messy and uncoordinated as both of them clamour for more. Their teeth clash, Alex's hair falls out of its bun and manages to get in the way of their mouths, their noses collide more than once, there's no gentleness or carefulness about this kiss, only urgency and a shared desire made worse for the waiting.

Piper's thigh again finds its way between Alex's legs and the kiss breaks as Alex's head falls back, revealing an expanse of pale neck that Piper's lips immediately latch onto. Alex pushes down against Piper's thigh and her fingers slide into blonde hair, her short nails dragging against scalp as she holds the other woman in place. Piper's teeth drag over the skin on her neck and Alex closes her eyes, tightening her hold in the other woman's hair as she surrenders to the feelings that are beginning to overwhelm her.

Piper has one hand on the side of Alex's neck and another on her waist, and it's this lower hand that shifts around and deftly pops the button on Alex's jeans. Alex becomes cognisant of this only when she feels Piper's slender fingers sliding over the soft skin of her lower abdomen and dipping inside the waistband of her underwear. A guttural sound that she doesn't even recognise emerges from her throat and one of her hands instinctively falls from Pipers hair and curls around her wrist, stopping her hand from proceeding any further.

Piper's lips leave her neck and Alex is aware of the cool air on her skin, clinging to the warm damp trails made by Piper's mouth. When she dares to open her eyes a couple of seconds later, she finds Piper's blue eyes immediately before her, holding her gaze, waiting, patient.

Piper doesn't pull against Alex's hold on her wrist. She waits. Her fingertips have just reached what feels like a narrow strip of soft trimmed hair and she very slowly, very gently, plays her fingers through this as she holds the other woman's gaze, waiting.

They stand this way for no more than six seconds, but it feels like an hour. No words are exchanged, all communication is carried out solely by their eyes, questions asked and answered without a single word being spoken.

Eventually Alex dips her head slightly, and she breathes the word '_yes_' against Piper's lips a moment before they kiss again. Her fingers release their hold around the other woman's wrist and she surrenders, handing over the control she usually grips so tightly.

"Yes?" Piper murmurs into the kiss as her fingers resume their journey south.

"Yes," Alex replies breathily, her hand sliding up Piper's arm and settling on her bicep.

Piper pauses the movement of her fingers and deepens the kiss, almost by way of distracting Alex, turning her focus back to the kiss and away from her hand. She has a feeling the cop isn't one to relinquish control freely, the hand currently curled around her upper arm appears to confirm this – she's released her wrist, offering tacit permission to Piper to continue, but she can't quite let go completely.

It seems to work. After a few seconds Piper feels the hold on her bicep loosen slightly as Alex relaxes into the kiss. Their tongues touch and withdraw, dancing together as both women savour this moment that both have wanted and waited for. Alex has been more cautious, more hesitant, and her resolve has been tested on more than one occasion but she's wanted this - this kiss, this _moment_ \- since the evening she walked away from Piper's apartment on the Thursday of Mikey's funeral. The wanting has only grown stronger in the time that's passed since, and she loses herself in the kiss now it's finally arrived. Piper's lips are soft but insistent and her mouth is warm, and Alex responds without even a hint of hesitation, desire beginning to cloud her consciousness.

Piper's left hand moves up Alex's neck and her fingers wind into her hair. She tugs gently and a soft moan escapes Alex before being lost into their kiss. She tightens her grip, hair pulling tight around her fingers, firmly holding Alex in place, and then her right hand begins to move again.

Piper pushes down, her fingers moving deeper into Alex's underwear, constrained but not inhibited by the fabric. Two fingers slide over Alex's mound, then ghost past her clit and into her folds. She feels like velvet, and Piper is pleasantly surprised by the wetness that greets her fingers. She can't help smiling. The kiss breaks momentarily, and Piper looks at Alex, a small smile on her lips.

"Yes," Piper breathes, then again, smiling wider, "oh, yes."

Alex closes the small gap between them and kisses Piper again. This time the kiss is hard and urgent, and she shifts her hips forward into Piper's hand as their mouths collide. Piper needs no encouragement, her two fingers continue to move to where Alex clearly wants them to be, and when her fingertips brush past Alex's opening and the other woman thrusts her hips forward hard, she knows she's receiving the permission she seeks.

She turns her hand, bending it at the wrist, and she pushes two fingers into Alex without hesitation. The kiss breaks as a moan falls from Alex's lips and her head tilts back, aided by a gentle pull from Piper's hand in her hair. Piper feels Alex clench around her, drawing her fingers into the wet warmth of her core, and she pulls against that resistance as she begins to thrust her fingers at a steady pace.

Piper's mouth moves to the side, her lips dragging over pale skin and moving up the column of Alex's neck. She breathes out heavily, her breath warm in Alex's ear and she feels the other woman shudder in response.

This wasn't how Piper had pictured their first time. In those moments she'd lain in bed touching herself, fantasising about Alex, playing out potential scenarios in her mind as she brought herself to a blissful climax, this absolutely hadn't featured. But then she'd never imagined Alex would quite literally save her life on a Harlem street in the early hours of a Friday morning either, and so she'd had no inkling that her response to that would be so strong, and urgent, and desperate. She'd had no notion that her response would be an overwhelming desire to have her, and to have her _now_.

"You want this?" she breathes in Alex's ear, feeling the other woman clench hard around her fingers before hearing her quiet whispered response.

"Yes."

"You want my fingers?"

"Yes," no more than a breath.

"You want me to fuck you?"

This time Alex's reply is a groaned "Yes," and Piper smiles slightly before biting gently on the lobe of Alex's ear.

"Like this?" she breathes, changing the angle of her hand slightly and pushing her fingers against Alex's front wall at the end of each firm thrust.

"Yessss," Alex moans, gripping Piper's bicep tighter, her knees trembling ever so slightly.

"You want them deep inside you, Al? Deeper?"

These are not questions that require answers. The way Alex's body is responding to her touch makes it perfectly clear what she wants. But what's also crystal clear to Piper is the effect her words, breathed lowly and directly into Alex's ear, are having on her.

"Yes," she replies again, rasping the words on a heavy breath, "_fuck_ yes."

Alex's hips buck forward and Piper changes the angle of her hand again, a slight adjustment that allows the fleshy part of her hand at the base of her thumb to make direct contact with Alex's most sensitive spot.

"Like this?" Piper breathes, simultaneously tugging her hand in Alex's hair.

"Yes," is the whimpered response.

"You're so _tight_, Alex," Piper breathes in her ear. "So tight and so wet for me."

Alex groans loud and long, the power of speech escaping her.

"I'm going to make you _come_."

These whispered words, carried on a breath warm in her ear, hold nothing but the truth. These words, combined with the fingers buried deep inside her and the delicious pressure upon her clit leave Alex teetering on the edge of oblivion. She clenches hard around Piper's fingers and pushes down, desperately trying to take them deeper.

"Yes," Alex groans, "please, yes..."

"Come Alex," Piper breathes, "come for me."

Alex does, clinging desperately to Piper as a powerful orgasm wracks her body. Stars explode behind her closed eyelids and Piper's name falls unbidden from her lips. Her knees tremble and she dimly thinks she might fall, but Piper presses against her, holding her in place, her fingers still buried inside her and thrusting hard as Alex loses any semblance of control.

"I've got you," Piper murmurs in her ear, and Alex thinks that these may be the truest words she's heard all night.

.

* * *

.

It's eleven a.m. and the autumn sunshine is spilling into the bedroom, disturbing Alex's slumber.

"You're awake," Alex says, her voice still thick with sleep.

Beside her in bed, Piper turns her face to her. "I am," she murmurs.

"And you're still here."

Piper rolls onto her side, turning toward the other woman. "I am," she repeats quietly.

"I'm glad," Alex replies. She leans in and kisses Piper's lips softly. "Don't go," she murmurs, before drifting back to sleep.

.

* * *

.

It's two thirty in the afternoon the next time Alex and consciousness meet. This time she wakes to the sound of running water and she realises it's the shower. The bed is empty, but she slides her hand over the expanse of mattress beside her and finds it still holds some of the residual warmth from Piper's body.

She turns onto her left side and immediately regrets it as she lies on her injured arm. She hisses quietly in pain and rolls onto her back. After lying still for a couple of minutes she swings her legs out of bed, pulls on a sports bra, a plain black tank top and a pair of yoga pants and makes her way downstairs.

She puts on a pot of coffee and takes two Tylenol, then sits at her dining table with a glass of water whilst waiting for the coffee to brew. She checks her phone and finds nine messages waiting: Washington, Daya and her Lieutenant, plus six from Nicky and two missed calls.

Washington's message reads: _How're you doing, Hero Cop?  
_She replies: _Less of the 'hero cop' BS. I'm good. Literally just woke up. I'll call you later._

Daya's message reads: _Hope you're doing okay, Alex. Call me if you need anything.  
_She replies: _Thanks, gorgeous. I'm doing good. Enjoy your rest days, all good here. xx_

The message from her LT reads: _Contact me, Vause. I need to know if you're going to be fit for duty from Tuesday.  
_She begrudgingly replies: _Should be fine, LT. Will let you know ASAP if that changes._

Then the series of messages from Nicky begin.

1204: _Just heard on the news that some cop got shot in Harlem last night. Just checking it isn't you.  
_1315: _Vause?  
_1327: _If this is your idea of a joke, it isn't funny. Just saying. Let me know you're okay.  
_1345: _I'm serious, Vause. Pick up your damn phone.  
_1408: _Don't make me call the hospitals, asshole. Pick up.  
_1422: _Right. I'm coming over._

Alex's eyes widen when she sees the last message and she immediately calls her best friend. The call diverts straight to voicemail so she leaves a brief message assuring her she's fine, then looks up as Piper appears in the kitchen doorway.

She's wearing the same clothes she arrived in earlier that morning, her hair is still damp from the shower and she's twisting it into a bun with her fingers.

"Hey," Alex smiles at her from her seat at the table.

"Hi," Piper replies. "I helped myself to a shower, I hope you don't…"

Alex shakes her head. "Not at all. Did you find your toothbrush?"

Alex had earlier pulled out the toothbrush she'd given to Piper a couple of nights ago and left it on the vanity again.

Piper smiles. "I did. Thank you."

The two women look at each other in silence for just a couple of seconds, neither really knowing what to say next, both trying to conceal small shy smiles, then Alex grins and holds a hand out towards Piper. "C'mere you."

Piper smiles wide as she slides her hand into Alex's and allows herself to be tugged closer.

"Is it a little soon," she starts as she lifts one leg over Alex's thighs and lowers herself into her lap, "to have my own toothbrush here?"

"Oh, I don't think so," Alex says, both hands moving to Piper's waist as the blonde straddles her on the chair and loops her arms around her neck.

"No?"

Alex leans in and kisses Piper's lips briefly. "Mmmmnope." She runs her nose along Piper's jawline and murmurs, "To be perfectly honest, Chapman, after what you did to me this morning, I'm about ready to clear out a drawer in the bedroom and give you your own key."

Alex grins as she hears the laugh rumble in Piper's chest in response to her words.

"Well you know, I kinda felt the whole saving my life thing probably deserved a little more than a token 'thank you'," Piper jokes.

Alex shakes her head and tries to dismiss Piper's words. "It's just a scratch, Pipes. Really, it isn't anything."

"You keep telling yourself that," Piper responds. "If that makes you feel better, you keep doing that. But I was there too, Al, and I know what happened."

"Yeah, no, it really wasn't-"

Piper leans down and kisses her suddenly, cutting her off. "Shut up, Vause," she says, and kisses her again.

Alex turns away and dips her head slightly, breaking the kiss. "Wait, no… "

A look of concern crosses Piper's face, then dissipates when Alex continues, "I haven't brushed my teeth."

"Don't care," Piper says, leaning in for another kiss.

Alex turns her head away, avoiding the other woman's lips. "No way, you can't experience my morning breath on day one, Pipes, that's definitely not a thing."

Piper turns her head with Alex's chasing her lips. "It's the middle of the afternoon," she reminds her, stealing a quick chaste kiss as Alex's lips come close briefly. "No such thing as morning breath in the middle of the afternoon."

"Ah, but…"

"But listen," Piper interrupts, "if you want me to just fuck you in this chair with no kissing, I'm game if you are. It could be kinda hot, now I think about it."

Alex lets out a short little laugh at Piper's words, then stops suddenly when she notices the look on the blonde's face.

"Oh fuck. You're serious."

Piper smiles sweetly and slowly drags a fingertip along Alex's jaw, bringing it to rest under her chin. She uses this finger to tilt her chin up, making Alex lift her head.

"But I really," she pauses, leaning in a little as she brushes her lips against Alex's cheek, "really…", her lips are moving closer to Alex's ear, her breath ghosting over her skin, "really…", Alex finds her head is tilting of it's own accord, her face turning towards Piper's voice, "really want to kiss you, Alex."

The last few words are breathed directly in her ear and Alex completely gives in. She turns her face the last little movement to capture Piper's lips with her own, all thought about morning-breath totally forgotten as her resolve crumbles. Her hands tighten on Pipers waist and she kisses her hard, pulling her closer.

Piper smiles a little into the kiss, wondering for a brief moment if it's the breath thing or the actual words that have this effect on Alex. She suspects it might be the breathy way she's delivering them, but either way, she's delighted with the result. She responds to the kiss with fervour, and pushes her hips down in Alex's lap.

Alex can't remember the last time any woman had this effect on her. She can't remember the last time she felt quite so overwhelmed with desire. Their relationship moved into this new realm only a few hours ago, but already Piper is learning her buttons, discovering what turns her on and pushing those buttons with abandon in order to gain an advantage.

Alex isn't complaining. Alex is too turned on and totally consumed with this woman to think about anything else at all. This is more than desire. She _needs_ her.

One of Alex's arms moves around Piper's waist and she shifts on the chair, leaning Piper back slightly. As she begins to move, Alex uses the momentum to continue forward, rising to her feet with Piper still holding onto her. She leans forward and takes a step and Piper's ass lands on the table, sending Alex's fortunately-empty glass of water spinning across the surface. A placemat and a coaster get pushed aside and fall to the floor, a couple of letters are trapped and crumpled beneath her, and Piper leans back, using one hand to brace herself on the surface of the table, the other still curled around Alex's neck.

The arm Alex has around the other woman's waist stays firmly in place, but her other hand is already pushing its way into the front of Piper's trousers. There's no gentleness, no finesse, just a hunger and a burning desire that's driving her on.

The kiss hasn't broken at all since Alex gave in to it, it's fierce and bruising, breathless and desperate. Both women are lost in this moment, giving and taking what they both need.

The moment that Alex's slender fingers finally reach Piper's centre is the exact same moment that there are three loud bangs on the kitchen door, making it rattle in the frame.

"Vause?! Vause are you in there?"

Alex freezes and turns her head quickly in the direction of the yelling just in time to see the door open and her best friend walk uninvited into her kitchen.

"Vause?! Vau- oh fuck!"

Nicky's eyes go wide at the scene before her, but she recovers quickly.

"I don't fucking believe this! I've been messaging you for three fuckin' hours, worrying myself stupid that you've been shot dead in the middle of the night and so I drive over here and find you're not actually dead, you're just too busy _fucking_ to call me back!"

Before Alex can reply, Nicky turns her attention to Piper. Her tone changes completely, suddenly all politeness and calm, and she offers her hand. "Hi, by the way. I'm Nicky, and you are… _different_ and _special_, I assume."

She makes air quotation marks around the two adjectives that Alex used when she wouldn't tell her Piper's name during their lunch earlier in the week.

Piper moves her arm from around Alex's neck and takes Nicky's hand, shaking it. "Piper," she confirms. "Hi."

Nicky nods, "A pleasure," then turns her attention back to Alex.

"So what happened to '_when I have something to tell you, I'll tell you_', huh?"

Alex is completely bewildered. This entire scene is so surreal even Dali would be intimidated.

"I think you'll find," Alex starts, her voice becoming increasingly louder, "that I'm right in the middle of the '_something_' I might have told you about later, Nichols! What the actual fuck?!"

Nicky looks at them both again. Piper seated on the table, bracing herself with one arm against the surface, Alex standing between her legs, one hand pushed out of sight buried in Piper's underwear, both women flushed and breathless…

"Ah," she says, the sudden reality of the scene she's placed herself into the middle of finally hitting home. She takes a step back. "Shall I, um…?" she jerks her thumb over her shoulder. "I'll wait, shall I? I'll be, um, right in here…" she backs away to the living room and disappears out of sight. "Don't mind me," she calls, "I promise I won't peek!"

Piper looks in the direction of the doorway to the living room, both eyebrows raised high, then she looks back at Alex. "What the hell just happened?" she asks quietly, unable to keep the look of amusement from her face.

Alex's head drops forward, her forehead coming to rest on the top of Piper's shoulder.

"I'm so sorry," she replies. "Seriously, I'm _so_ sorry."

Piper moves a hand to the back of Alex's head and strokes her hair gently.

Alex raises her head a few moments later and pulls away, removing her hand from Piper's trousers as she does.

"So that was Nicky," she offers. "Best friend up until about three minutes ago, asshole, whirlwind, unstoppable force."

Alex looks a mixture of embarrassed, mortified and dejected. Piper smiles softly as she slides off the table and straightens her clothes. She steps in to Alex and winds her arms around her.

Piper keeps her voice soft. "Whilst I admit her timing could've been better, she's here because she loves you and she was worried about you," she begins. "So don't be mad, okay? We have all the time in the world. We can pick up right were we left off as soon as she leaves."

She punctuates her statement with a soft, gentle kiss that makes Alex moan softly and she has to force herself to step away.

"Go brush your teeth, Morning Breath, I'll pour us all some coffee."


	11. Chapter 11

Alex raises her head a few moments later and pulls away, removing her hand from Piper's trousers as she does.

"So that was Nicky," she offers. "Best friend up until about three minutes ago, asshole, whirlwind, unstoppable force."

Alex looks a mixture of embarrassed, mortified and dejected. Piper smiles softly as she slides off the table and straightens her clothes. She steps in to Alex and winds her arms around her.

Piper keeps her voice soft. "Whilst I admit her timing could've been better, she's here because she loves you and she was worried about you," she begins. "So don't be mad, okay? We have all the time in the world. We can pick up right were we left off as soon as she leaves."

She punctuates her statement with a soft, gentle kiss that makes Alex moan softly and she has to force herself to step away.

"Go brush your teeth, Morning Breath, I'll pour us all some coffee."

.

* * *

.

Alex rushes upstairs and washes her hands and face, then brushes her teeth. She pulls a hairbrush through her long dark hair, then ventures back downstairs.

Piper is in the kitchen pouring coffee into three mugs and Alex can hear Nicky's voice from the living room, clearly on the phone to somebody, telling them '_can confirm, definitely not dead_'.

Alex takes two of the coffees from Piper, adds sugar to Nicky's, then carries them through to the other room. She places one on the arm of her friend's chair, then moves to sit on the couch and listens to the half of Nicky's conversation she can hear.

"No, she's fine. Really. Yeah, she's right here. What? No. No you can't talk to her. No, she's- yes. It wasn't even _her_, though! Yes, I promise. No, she doesn't want to talk, she-, oh for the love of… fine, fine!"

Nicky leans forward in her chair and holds out her phone to Alex. "Just prove you're alive, okay?"

Alex frowns and takes the phone. She says 'hello' to the unknown caller, then grins and leans back into the couch as she listens. After a full thirty seconds of not being able to get a word in, she finally speaks.

"It's good to hear your voice, too. I promise you I'm absolutely fine, and yes, I love you too."

She smiles wider as she listens again, then speaks softly into the handset. "I know. I do know that. You take care of yourself, sweetheart. Love you."

She presses the button to terminate the call and then tosses the phone back to her friend just as Piper enters the room and joins her on the couch.

"I think your girlfriend loves me more than she does you,"

"I think you might be right," Nicky replies. "Seriously, I thought she was relapsing for a minute there."

Alex leans back and slings an arm around Piper's shoulders, encouraging her to move a little closer, which she does carefully, trying not to spill her coffee.

"Everything okay?" she asks, unaware of the bulk of the phone call having only caught the very end.

"Mmm, all good. It was Nicky's girlfriend, Lorna, she just…"

"Not _technically_ my girlfriend," Nicky interjects, causing Alex to look over at her and frown.

"It was Nicky's friend, confidante, and regular sex partner, Lorna, she just…"

Nicky rolls her eyes and mutters "Fuck you," under her breath.

Alex grins and continues, "She just wanted to check I was okay. _Somebody_ phoned her in a panic earlier because they'd heard something on the news about a cop getting shot and they couldn't get hold of me."

"I wouldn't use the word 'panic'," Nicky starts, trying to defend herself.

"No?"

"No. I mean, I was little bit concerned, but…"

"I had six text messages and two missed calls in the space of ninety minutes, Nic!"

"And yet you couldn't reply to a single one!"

"Actually, I did." Alex says. "I was working the night shift, you know I always sleep in the day after a night shift, that's why I didn't reply! And actually if you check your voicemail, you'll find that actually I did. I called you straight away, as soon as I got up and saw all your calls and messages, I fucking called you!"

Nicky snatches up her phone and scowls at it as she pokes the screen. She taps a button and lifts the phone to her ear, looking across as Alex as she listens to the voicemail she'd missed. When the message ends, she puts the phone down and shakes her head.

"Yeah, so, I think I already said I'm sorry?" she starts.

"Actually I don't think you did."

"Yeah. Well." Nicky clears her throat and looks away. She still doesn't apologise, but this is close.

Piper moves her hand to Alex's knee and squeezes it gently, silently prompting her to let it go.

"Yeah, well. Everything's good, so no dramas here."

Nicky nods and takes a sip of her coffee. "So who was it, anyway? Anyone you know?"

"Huh?"

"Who got shot?"

"Oh! Oh, umm, yeah no. Nobody, it was misreported."

Piper's head flips to look at her. "What?!"

"Nobody got shot," Alex says pointedly, looking back at her. "It was misreported, over-exaggerated."

"I don't think-" Piper starts, but Alex cuts her off.

"_Nobody_ was hurt." She looks back at Nicky, ignoring the fact that Piper's staring at her incredulously. "Why aren't you at work, anyway."

Nicky looks back at her, noting Piper's reaction, Alex's forced casual tone and the way she's so obviously changing the subject. Alex raises her cup to take a sip of coffee.

"What happened to your hand?"

Alex glances at the hand holding her coffee, still reddened and abraded. "Ah nothing," she says dismissively, putting her cup down and pushing her hand between her thighs, "just skinned it wrestling someone to the floor."

It's kind of the truth. Piper raises an eyebrow and moves away a little, further along the couch, signalling non-verbally that she wants no part of this.

"And your arm?"

Alex glances at the dressing on the top of her left arm, suddenly wishing she'd chosen a t-shirt instead of her tank top. She shrugs. "It's nothing. So, no work today?"

Nicky just looks at Alex for a few seconds in silence, then deliberately shifts her attention. "So, Piper," she starts, "how do you know Alex? I mean, apart from in the biblical sense, obviously. Sorry about that, by the way."

Piper smiles slightly. "No harm no foul," she replies. "We work together, kinda. I'm a paramedic. We met at work."

"Oh cool, a paramedic! That's cool. Yeah, cool."

Piper nods and drinks some coffee.

"It'd be kinda handy having a paramedic around, if, say for example, someone were to get shot, huh?"

Piper's cheeks turn a faint shade of pink and she can't meet Nicky's eye. "I guess so," she murmurs.

"Oh for fuck's sake," Alex starts, but she's immediately cut off by Nicky.

"Don't you dare '_for fuck's sake_' me, Vause. I'm not fucking _stupid_! What the actual fuck?"

"Look, it's nothing," Alex replies. "I'm here, right? I'm sitting here right in front of you. I'm fine, you can see I'm fine, it was nothing!"

Piper clears her throat quietly and looks away.

"If it was so clearly 'nothing', why are you being so fucking evasive about it?" Nicky's annoyance is evident in her tone.

"I'm not being evasive!" Alex protests.

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I ask why you're being evasive? Maybe I should've asked why you're outright _lying_ to me!"

"Jesus Christ! Chill the fuck out will you? You're not my fucking mother!"

"Your mother, God rest her, would kick your fucking ass if she were here, Vause. But she isn't, so you get me, and pardon me for giving a shit about you."

Alex bites her tongue, purposefully not responding and saying something she'll inevitably regret.

"Look," Piper tries, keeping her voice deliberately calm. "I'm pretty sure you two butting heads about this is not going to help the situation. You," she says looking at Nicky, "were clearly worried about Alex, but she's right, you can see she's right here and she's fine. Relatively speaking. And you," turning to look at Alex, "need to accept that your friends care about you, and not for the first time I'm telling you to let them do that, and hiding stuff from them is only going to make them worry more."

Nicky looks at Alex, who holds her gaze.

"So talk," Piper offers. "Don't fight, just talk."

She looks at both women in turn, then stands and takes her coffee and retreats to the kitchen.

.

* * *

.

Ten minutes later, after she's picked up the things that were knocked from the table, called her parents, and poured another cup of coffee, she's joined in the kitchen by both Alex and Nicky.

"I feel like I've been sent to the Principal's office," Nicky starts, with a small smile.

"Well that's not something you'd be unfamiliar with," Alex quips.

They both pull out chairs at the table with Piper, who is now being help captive by Vincent. He's pretending to be asleep in her lap and she's stroking him slowly, listening to his quiet purring approval.

"Not the kind of pussy action you thought you'd be getting, huh?" Nicky asks with a grin and a wink.

Piper laughs softly and raises an eyebrow. "I think I have _you_ to thank for that."

Nicky grins back at her. "I definitely did apologise for that already, but I'm happy to do it again. Sorry."

Piper shakes her head, dismissing the apology as being unnecessary. She looks at Alex. "You two okay?"

"We're okay. She's an asshole and I'm an asshole, but we're okay."

"It was like being caught in the middle of family domestic," Piper replies with a small smile, "and you know how much I love _those_."

Alex offers a sad smile and nods her head. "Sorry about that."

"You doing okay?" Nicky asks, directing her question to Piper. "Vause told me you were there too. Sounds like it was a close call for both of you."

"Yeah yeah, I'm fine," Piper replies, trying to sound like it was really no big deal, uncertain just how open Alex has been with her friend with the details. "It all happened so fast, no time to take anything in really."

"Do you get caught up in stuff like that often? I mean, I always imagined _she_ did," indicating Alex with a tilt of the head, "but I guess I never thought about ambulance crew."

Piper shrugs. "Not really. Not often. I mean, sometimes yeah we're in some tight spots, but that's the first time I've been deliberately… y'know…" she swallows, not finishing her sentence.

Alex hooks her feet around the legs of her chair and scoots a little closer to Piper, then reaches out and takes her hand, giving it a gentle squeeze.

Piper smiles weakly, grateful for the contact and the reassurance that the small gesture offers.

"Well listen, if you ever find you're struggling with all of that stuff, you give me a call okay?" Piper looks at the business card that Nicky is sliding across the table top towards her, then reaches out for it.

"You're a therapist?" she asks, reading the card.

"Yeah. I mean, not the kind of therapist _you_ would need. Also that would just be weird, now that I've seen you getting fucked by my best friend here…"

"Almost," Piper interjects with a grin.

Nicky chuckles and continues. "I work with kids, I do family stuff. But my practice, we cover pretty much everything and…" Nicky shrugs. "There'd be no charge, obviously, not for you, but…" she trails off and shrugs again, then continues. "But I think if you're gonna be dating Stretch here, you're clearly gonna need some pretty heavy therapy."

"Hey!" Alex protests, wondering how she suddenly got dragged into this.

"Oh no," Piper responds quickly. "I'm not dating her, I'm just using her for sex."

Nicky laughs loudly, then reaches out and exchanges a high five with Piper, loving her quick response.

"I like her Vause," she grins at Alex as she stands from her chair, preparing to leave. "You should keep her. Don't fuck it up."

Alex stands too and approaches her friend smiling. "I'll see what I can do."

The two women hug, Nicky squeezing just a little harder than she usually does. She releases her friend and turns to Piper who is shooing Vincent from her lap.

"I'm sorry again about the whole clam jam thing," she starts with a grin, "_especially_ as you're only using her for sex."

Piper smiles and raises Nicky's business card before sliding it into the back pocket of her jeans. "Thank you for this, I'll be sure to contact your office when my sexual frustration drives me to the brink of a breakdown."

"I'll see you again, I hope," Nicky smiles. "It was good to meet you, Piper."

"You too," Piper replies. "See you, Nicky."

Alex sees Nicky out, talking to her on the rear porch for a minute. Piper clears away their cups and rinses them in the sink, leaving them upturned on the drainer just as Alex returns.

Alex approaches and places her hands on Pipers hips, standing behind her. She leans down and kisses her neck softly. "You okay?" she murmurs.

Piper leans her head to the side, showing Alex more of her neck. "I'm fine," she replies quietly. "Everything okay with the two of you?"

"Thanks to you," Alex responds, nuzzling Piper's neck.

Piper turns in Alex's arms and loops her arms around the other woman's neck again. "I like her, she clearly cares about you."

"We've known each other a _very_ long time," Alex admits. "Since we were kids, pretty much."

"I'm not such a fan of her clam jam skills though, I have to admit."

"That's such a great term though," Alex grins.

"Yeah," Piper smiles. "But I think I prefer '_cliterference_', personally."

Alex laughs softly and leans in to kiss Piper's neck again. "I'd prefer none of them, if I'm totally honest."

"Mmm," Piper agrees, stretching her neck. "But she's gone now, right?"

"Oh yeah," Alex replies, kissing Piper's neck wetly, "definitely, definitely gone. And this time I made sure I locked the damn door."

Piper smiles as her head falls back and Alex's hand pushes beneath the waistband of her jeans. "Thank God."

.

* * *

.

It's approaching six in the evening and they're back in the kitchen. Alex is sitting atop the kitchen counter, her hair still damp from her shower, as Piper changes the dressing on her left arm.

Alex watches in silence as Piper works, using the small first aid kit she keeps in her car to clean the wound, dab it with iodine, and apply a new sterile dressing. She finishes her work by leaning in and placing a gentle kiss on the dressing, then looks up at Alex and smiles.

"All done."

"It's the magic kiss that's gonna make it all better, isn't it."

Piper grins. "Magic kiss?"

Alex shakes her head and pulls her sleeve down, then tugs a long cardigan on. "Something my mom used to say when I was small. When I fell or scraped my knee or whatever, I didn't ever want a band aid, I just wanted a magic kiss from my mom to make it better."

"Cute," Piper smiles. "Did it work?"

"Every time."

Piper is about to ask a question about Alex's mom, having picked up on something Nicky said earlier in the midst of the argument that makes her think she's no longer around. Before she can, the doorbell rings.

"Pizza's here," Alex says. She calls out "J_ust a minute!_" down the hallway as she looks for her wallet.

"How do you know?"

"Well number one, because I ordered it about thirty minutes ago," she grins, "and number two, because anyone who knows me knows I never use the front door of the house."

"I'd noticed that!" Piper exclaims. "What's that about?"

Alex grabs her wallet and heads to the door. "Be right back."

She returns a minute later carrying their dinner. "I use the back because that's where I park my bikes. It's just laziness really. Want to sit out there and eat?"

Piper does, so the two women move outside. Alex drops the pizza box on the table, then offers Piper a drink. "I have beer, some white wine, soda…"

"I'll take a soda, thanks. As much as I'd love a glass of wine right now, I know I shouldn't."

Alex pops back into the kitchen and returns with two cans of soda. Piper thanks her and they dig in to the pizza.

"Why no wine?" Alex asks, after taking her first bite.

"I have to drive home in a little while," Piper shrugs. "A DUI wouldn't do me any favours."

"You're not gonna stay? You know you can. You're welcome to. By which I mean…" Alex trails off, suddenly and inexplicably too embarrassed to tell Piper she would _like_ her to stay.

"I know what you mean, but I've been in these clothes for thirty-six hours, Al, I really need to change."

"That's not a problem," Alex replies. "I was kinda planning on you being naked anyway."

She grins, and Piper laughs quietly. "Tempting, but I really have to go. I'm driving up to my parents' in the morning so I need to get my stuff together."

Alex had totally forgotten about Piper's planned long weekend in Connecticut, meeting her new niece, spending time with her family. She makes a conscious effort not to let her face fall as she remembers and tries to keep a cheerful note in her voice.

"Of course! You need to cuddle that baby, I remember."

"I'll be back on Monday, late afternoon early evening-ish, if you wanted to grab dinner or something?"

"Sounds good." Alex smiles, but it doesn't quite reach her eyes. Internally she's really disappointed that she won't get to see Piper over the weekend, particularly as their relationship has moved in this new direction.

"And I'll call you," Piper says, "Obviously."

Alex smiles. "Good," she murmurs.

"Probably too many times and you'll be sick of me."

"I can't see that happening, I'll be honest."

Piper smiles, pleased with Alex's response, and turns her attention back to her pizza.

.

* * *

.

An hour later, they're standing on the porch saying their goodbyes. Alex tells her to drive safe and Piper promises she will. Their kiss is lingering, but finally Piper drags herself away and leaves. Alex stands and watches as she reverses out of the driveway, then turns into road and disappears out of sight.

She returns inside, picking up the pizza box and packing up the leftovers for lunch tomorrow. The box goes into the recycling, then she takes one of the pills Daya gave her and flops on the sofa. Vincent joins her and she reaches for her phone.

Washington answers on the second ring.

"Hey partner," she greets her. "How're you holding up?"

"I'm good, P. I'm doing good. You okay?"

"Yeah, just kicking back with some PS4 while Daya makes dinner. How's the arm?"

Alex touches her wound through her clothing and the dressing almost unconsciously. "It's okay. A little tender, but I took a shower and changed the dressing earlier and it looks okay. Not infected or anything. My hand still stings like a bitch, but it's alright."

"You on your own?"

"Yeah, Nicky stopped by earlier this afternoon, but now it's just me and Vinny."

"You need some company? We can come over after dinner if you like. Watch some Netflix, have a couple of beers..."

"No. No no. It's all good."

"You sure?" Washington pauses for a second then continues, "You know when this catches up with you you're gonna need a friend, right?"

"Yeah I know, and I appreciate the offer, P, but I promise you I'm okay."

"Alright. Well if that changes, you know you only have to holler, right? Day or night."

"I know that, and I appreciate it."

Alex listens as she hears Daya's voice in the background. Washington tells her she's talking to Alex, and a moment later Daya is on the line.

"Al, hey. How're you doing?"

Alex smiles at the note of genuine concern in her voice. "I'm doing good. I'm pretty tired, but I just took one of those pills you gave me, so that's probably why."

"Yeah, you'll be asleep within about thirty minutes after taking that. It's good stuff."

"I figured."

"Your arm okay?"

"Yeah it's cool. I was just telling P that I checked it after my shower and it's looking fine. A little sore, but fine."

"Do you have any iodine? You should put iodine on it, keep it clean, stop it getting infected. We could stop by later and I could dress it for you if you like?"

"Already taken care of, babe. But thanks."

"Everything else okay? You feeling alright about all of this?"

Alex smiles. "You know, next time I call P, I should get her to put me on speaker. I swear I've just had this exact conversation with her."

Daya chuckles. "Sorry. I didn't know. We both worry about you though, you know? It's only because we care."

"I know that, and I'm grateful to you both. I promise you I'm okay though. And if I'm not, you'll be the first people I call."

"I'll settle for that. I'll pass you back to P, you take care of yourself, Alex. Love you."

"Love you too," Alex smiles, and waits until Washington comes back on the line.

"She tells you that more than she tells me, Vause, you know that right?"

"Well that's because she loves me more, obviously," Alex grins.

"Obviously. Oh hey, strange question, but have you heard anything from Chapman today?"

"Chapman? Uh, why would I?"

"No reason, just Daya tried to get a hold of her earlier to check she's doing okay. It went to voicemail and she hasn't gotten back yet."

"Oh right. Um, didn't I hear her say she had plans? Going to visit her parents or something?"

Alex can feel her cheeks burning as she speaks about Piper. She's avoiding answering the question and being deliberately evasive and she hopes it isn't obvious. She isn't sure why she's not coming clean about where Piper has spent all of her time since finishing work early that morning, but doesn't want to say anything yet. She's not even certain what she'd say.

"Ohhh yeah! You might be right! I think she _did_ say something about that."

In fact Piper did. It was when she was in her own ambulance not long after the shooting. Only Diaz and Washington were present at the time, but fortunately that minor detail seems to have slipped Poussey's mind.

"Yeah, so. Probably driving or something. I'm sure she'll check in. Anyway, I'm gonna go…"

"Okay Vause. Take care yeah? Remember to call if you need us."

"Will do, thanks P. I'll talk to you soon."

"Take it easy."

As soon as the call drops, Alex fires a quick text off to Piper.

_Call Daya when you get a minute, Pipes.  
She wants to check you're okay. Think you  
may have a voicemail. xx _

Ten minutes later she receives a reply.

_Just got home, will do it now._

Ten minutes after that, she receives another.

_Really weird talking to her and not  
telling her where I've been and what  
I've been doing all day! _

Alex smiles when she reads the message. She's making her way up to bed, so waits until she's in it to tap out a reply.

_I know right? Same. Felt like  
I've been doing something I  
shouldn't._

Piper replies almost instantly.

_Sincerely hoping that doesn't  
mean you don't want to do it  
again._

Alex smiles and sends her response straight away.

_We'd be doing it RIGHT NOW  
if you hadn't left, I assure you! :)_

_Am in bed now, but __you're not  
here so __I took a pill. So sleepy __  
__now. Talk tomorrow?_

When Piper's reply arrives, Alex is already asleep, phone still in her hand, and she doesn't wake until a full thirteen hours have passed.

.

* * *

.

Alex spends much of Saturday doing very little. She changes her bed linen and does some laundry, thinks about doing some grocery shopping then decides against it, and she's lounging on her couch watching TV, lacking all motivation to do anything at all when her phone rings a little before three.

An unknown number shows on her screen and she considers ignoring it, but then answers it just before it flicks to voicemail.

"Hello?"

"Uh, hi, is that, uh… actually I don't think I know your name. Umm, are you a cop?"

"Who is this?" Alex replies gruffly. If this is some hack reporter wanting a quote about what happened yesterday, she'll kill whichever fuck gave out her number first, and the reporter next.

"Um, this is Ryan? I work at the, ah, the bar? On Perry? You, you asked me to call, if…"

"Ryan! Yes, yes hi. That's me."

"Oh hi," Ryan replies, massively relieved. "You asked me to call if those guys came back?"

Alex sits up quickly and checks the time, phone pressed to her ear. Her eyes are scanning the room looking for her boots and she's already mentally working out how long it'll take her to get to the bar from home at this time on a Saturday.

"That's right, I did. Are they there now?"

"Um, no."

Alex pauses, not sure she's heard correctly.

"Excuse me?"

"Ah no, they're not here. I've never seen them here since."

"Riiiiiiight?" Alex sits back and frowns. "So you're calling me because…?"

She listens as Ryan laughs nervously, then clears his throat. "Well, ah, here's the thing. It's a little… well…"

He clears his throat again and Alex waits.

"It's about the woman you were with, the blonde woman?"

He means Piper. Obviously he means Piper. "Yes?"

"Well, I was… I was just kind of wondering… I don't suppose you could give me her number, could you?"

Alex remains silent for a couple of seconds, not quite understanding the question as it sounds so alien to her.

"Or maybe give her mine? I understand if you don't want to give out her number without permission, but maybe you could pass mine on to her?"

"Wait, what?" Alex shakes her head, she thinks she's beginning to understand now, but… no. Surely not.

"I'll be honest with you, Mrs… umm… Officer…?"

"Officer," Alex says tersely, offering no more than that.

"I can't get her out of my mind. I mean, seriously. Ever since that day you were in here with her, she's all I can think about. I just… so yeah. I just wondered, could I get her number?"

"Wait, let me get this straight," Alex starts. "I gave you my number – and also a hundred, if I remember correctly – and I asked you to call me if a certain patron or patrons returned to your bar, and you listened and agreed and took the money, and then… wait, just make sure I'm clear on this Ryan, you called me up today to ask me if I would give you the number of. My. Fucking. Girlfriend?"

So technically she's stretching things here. Piper isn't in fact her girlfriend, but Ryan doesn't know that, nor does he need to, and actually she's considerably closer to Piper actually becoming _her_ girlfriend than she is _his_, so… a little truth stretching doesn't hurt. Or at least it doesn't hurt _her_. Ryan, on the other hand, sounds like he's just been physically punched in the gut as he lets out a quiet "Ohhhh, fuck," into the phone.

"Have I got that quite right, Ryan? Or am I misunderstanding any detail?"

"I'msosorryIhadnoidea," he blurts. "I didn't… I didn't know, I just… ohmyfuckinggod I'm so sorry."

"If you use this number again except for in line with our agreement, you fucking will be, Ryan."

Alex terminates the call, then slumps back into the couch. After a few seconds she finds herself laughing, and once she's started, she finds she can't stop.

She only stops when she realises she can't actually share this story with anyone.

.

* * *

.

It's approaching nine o'clock and Alex is considering having an early night and going to bed, but she also feels a little defeatist at giving up on the day so easily. She's been sitting on her porch reading throughout the evening, unable to tolerate any more of the _gun-toting_, mullet-sporting, tiger-tackling, gay _polygamist_ that Netflix has been offering her, so she returned to the solace of her book instead after a light dinner.

She stretches, working out the stiffness in her shoulders, then heads back inside briefly. She returns a moment later and shakes out her yoga mat, unrolling it onto the wooden deck of her porch. She opens Spotify on her phone and selects a yoga playlist, then sets it down and begins her exercise.

Alex wouldn't consider herself an expert at yoga by any stretch of the imagination. She tried a few classes initially but found it all a little too intense, and a little intimidating if she's honest. She found it far more enjoyable when she invested in a little one-to-one instruction instead. It taught her the basic principles and although she no longer sees her yoga teacher, she does still practice at least three times a week, more if she can't make it to the gym. It's been a few days, and she can feel the tension that's built in both her mind and her body, so knows this is the release she needs.

She's starts with a sun salutation, then moves to some vinyasas, focusing on her breath as each movement flows to the next, cycling through five different warrior poses. After fifteen minutes, she switches to a more restorative type, holding her poses for longer, feeling her muscles stretch and burn and release the tension they've been holding. She shifts into a reclining bound angle pose and stays there, taking long and slow inhales and exhales.

"Okay, you're gonna have to stop now. That's one's too much."

Alex startles and lifts her head.

Standing on her driveway and at the end of the porch, arms folded atop the rail with her chin resting on her hands, is Piper.

Alex pushes herself up to a seated position. "How long have you been standing there?!"

"About ten minutes," Piper replies. "It was relaxing, watching you. But that last pose? With your legs like that? That's practically an invitation, Alex."

Alex smiles widely and stands as Piper makes her way around the outside of the porch to the steps.

"What the fuck are you even doing here? You're supposed to be in Connecticut."

Piper climbs the couple of steps slowly, and shrugs her shoulders. "The baby was cute, my parents were okay, my brother was my brother. But it turns out they're not who I want to spend my weekend off with."

"No?"

"No," Piper replies as she steps up close. "So I'm here, if that's okay with you."

"That's definitely okay with me, Pipes," Alex says as she leans in and kisses the other woman softly. "I really didn't want you to leave in the first place," she admits.

"If I'd have known then that you could get your legs into the positions I've just witnessed, I probably wouldn't have done!" Piper laughs.

Alex laughs with her, then wraps her arms around Piper and hugs her. "I'm so glad you're here," she says, smiling into Piper's neck. "So glad."


	12. Chapter 12

**AN: Continued thanks for the all of the kind reviews and the messages you're sending. They make my day, honestly. Hope you're all staying safe and well. **

**Typos and errors are mine.**

**This chapter is a solid M.**

.

* * *

.

"What the fuck are you even doing here? You're supposed to be in Connecticut."

Piper climbs the couple of steps slowly, and shrugs her shoulders. "The baby was cute, my parents were okay, my brother was my brother. But it turns out they're not who I want to spend my weekend off with."

"No?"

"No," Piper replies as she steps up close. "So I'm here, if that's okay with you."

"That's definitely okay with me, Pipes," Alex says as she leans in and kisses the other woman softly. "I really didn't want you to leave in the first place," she admits.

"If I'd have known then that you could get your legs into the positions I've just witnessed, I probably wouldn't have done!" Piper laughs.

Alex laughs with her, then wraps her arms around Piper and hugs her. "I'm so glad you're here," she says, smiling into Piper's neck. "So glad."

.

* * *

.

They move inside, Alex rolls up her yoga mat and tucks it away in the cupboard under the stairs. She flicks off the porch light and pours two glasses of white wine.

They sit on the couch, at either end but turned toward each other and Piper tells Alex all about her new niece, Persephone, and how she ruined the whole day when she told the rest of the family that rather than it meaning 'bringer of light' like her brother and his wife had thought, it actually means _bringer of destruction_.

"I can't imagine that went down well," Alex says with a smile as she sips her wine.

"You know that divorce he narrowly avoided with the basketball game? Well I think it might be back on the cards. Apparently it was _his_ suggestion."

"So _that's_ why you left and came home early, is it? Literally got yourself ran outta town." Alex smiles.

"We can go with that if it makes you feel more comfortable, sure," Piper shrugs. "But the truth is I was sitting there having dinner, looking around at my family who I love dearly and don't see enough of, and all I could think of… well."

"Well?" Alex replies.

Piper smiles shyly and drinks more of her wine.

"I've had a pretty miserable day," Alex admits. "So for what it's worth, I'm really happy you chose to come back to the city."

"Why miserable?" Piper asks, leaning in a little.

"Oh I don't know, no reason really," Alex admits. "I just had a nothing day. I had a list of things I needed to do, but didn't have the motivation to do any of it."

"You feeling okay?"

"I guess. I mean, yeah. My arm is good, my hand looks to be healing." She holds her hand up and turns it around as she studies it. She shrugs, then drinks more wine.

"Have you been thinking about what happened?"

"The shooting?" Alex asks, even though the question really needs no clarification.

"Yeah."

Alex holds her glass up to the light and swirls her drink as she thinks about how to answer.

"I try not to," she eventually admits, her voice quiet. "If I think about it too hard, I may never go back to work again," she looks back at Piper and continues, "and then where would we be? The thin blue line would be just that little bit thinner."

The question is rhetorical and Piper knows that, so she keeps quiet. Alex finishes the wine in her glass then looks at Piper and smiles again. "But my day got a whole lot better when you turned up, so can we focus on that part instead?"

"I think you're amazing," Piper says, right out of the blue.

Alex looks a little surprised and shakes her head. "Wait, what?" she grins. "Where did that come from?"

Piper places her glass on the table then leans closer to Alex. She kisses her softly, placing her hand on the other woman's knee. Alex tilts her head and responds to the kiss, but pulls away before things start to heat up.

"What was that for?" Alex asks as she sits back again, looking a little confused.

"For being you. For everything you do. Just, for everything."

Alex shakes her head dismissively, but Piper hasn't finished. "And I know you're all '_oh this is just what I do_', and '_I'm nothing special_', and '_just doing my job_', but I've met a lot of cops since I've been doing this job, and I'm telling you, you _are_ special, and this is just what _you_ do but not what _everybody_ does, and you go above and beyond in your job every single day. So you can sit there, Al, and try and downplay how amazing you are, but I _know_ you. So don't expect me to buy it."

Alex frowns as she listens to Piper, but doesn't argue with her.

"And I just want to say, it's okay to '_try not to think about it_', but it'll catch up with you. You _know_ that it will. So it's time to practice what you preach, Officer Vause, and draw on the people around you who get it."

"That's a low blow, Chapman," Alex replies quietly. "Using my own words against me."

"What? They don't apply to you?"

Alex stays quiet. When she doesn't answer but just looks away, Piper says "That's what I thought."

They sit silently for a few seconds, then Alex lets out a long breath.

"I think I'm gonna need more wine."

.

* * *

.

A couple of hours and a bottle and a half of wine later, they're heading upstairs for the night. They take it in turns in the bathroom, then Piper joins Alex in her bedroom.

Alex is already in bed, and Piper changes into the pyjama bottoms and t-shirt Alex has left on the end of the bed for her. She turns off the light, and slips under the covers next to Alex.

The bedside lamp is on, so Piper can see Alex's soft smile when she joins her in bed. They lie on their sides facing each other, and Piper rests her hand on Alex's hip.

"You okay?" she asks, her voice quiet.

"I'm okay," Alex replies, with a single nod of her head. "Thank you."

She isn't thanking Piper for enquiring after her wellbeing, she's thanking her for the last two hours. She's thanking her for her time, and care, and persistence, and friendship, and for listening, and for talking, and for understanding.

Piper knows. She rubs her thumb slowly on Alex's hip and she breathes out slowly through her nose when the other woman leans in and kisses her lips softly.

"How did we get here, Pipes?" Alex asks, quietly.

"Here? In your bed?"

"Mmm. It was only a couple of days ago that we were doing the flirty text thing, and I was picking you up from Red's. Now look at us."

"I think it was inescapable, us ending up here like this," Piper says. "We've tried to take it slow, but…" she shrugs one shoulder. "It was always going to happen, I think."

"I'm not complaining," Alex murmurs, "just to be clear."

"I'm glad," Piper smiles, "because I kinda like it here."

"Yeah?" Alex asks, one hand sliding beneath the hem of Piper's t-shirt.

"Mmm," Piper responds, leaning in for another kiss. "And it's just getting better and better…"

Alex smiles against Piper's mouth and pushes her hand further under the t-shirt, her fingers gliding over the soft skin of her abdomen. They kiss, long and slow and deliberate, and Alex's hand continues to caress Piper's skin as they do.

Her hand moves up to Piper's ribcage, fingers dipping around her side as she continues to move slowly upward, until her thumb touches first the softness of Piper's breast, then brushes over her nipple.

Piper lets out a quiet gasp into the kiss at the contact and Alex smiles, before doing it again. She feels the subtle arch of Piper's spine as she pushes her chest forward, seeking more contact, and responds by moving her hand around and covering her entire breast then squeezing it gently.

Piper responds by deepening their kiss and pulling herself closer to Alex. She lets out a soft moan as Alex pinches her nipple between her thumb and forefinger and she pushes her chest forward again. Alex is keeping her movements deliberately slow, learning how Piper responds to each touch and drawing out those responses for as long as she can.

They're still on their sides facing each other, so Alex only has one hand free with which to touch and tease and torment Piper, but one hand is all it's taking at the moment. The way she's applying just the right amount of pressure, causing a small degree of pain but a degree that seems almost indistinguishable from pleasure, is driving Piper mad. She pushes her chest forward again, seeking more contact and Alex smiles again and breaks the kiss.

"I don't know why I gave you this t-shirt," Alex murmurs, dropping a multitude of kisses up Piper's neck, "when all I want to do is get you out of it."

Piper responds by pulling away immediately and tearing the t-shirt off over her head, then tossing it to the floor.

Alex grins at the speed of Piper's response, then moves in for another agonisingly slow kiss. Piper tries to speed things up, thrusting her tongue into the other woman's mouth and pulling her closer, but it gets her nowhere. Alex pulls away from the kiss and instead places gentle kisses along Piper's jawline.

"Patience, Piper," she whispers as she gets close to her ear. "I'm going to take my time with you."

"Ohhh _god_," Piper groans, "you're going to kill me."

Alex smiles against her neck, then places her left hand on Piper's right shoulder, before pushing gently and forcing the other woman onto her back. She moves over her and continues to kiss her jaw, her neck, then her throat. Piper pushes her head back into her pillow, stretching her neck as Alex sucks gently on her throat, then continues to move lower.

Soft, featherlight kisses cover Piper's skin, both of Alex's hands are now caressing her breasts and Piper lets out a shuddering breath. She can't remember the last time anybody showed her this much care and attention, the last time anybody showed her body such reverence, and when Alex's lips close over her left nipple, she finds she can't remember anything else at all. Her hands automatically move to Alex's head, fingers sliding into her hair as she holds her in place. Her back arches, trying desperately to push even closer and when Alex's teeth first graze her nipple before biting down, she lets out a moan that comes from deep within her chest and clutches Alex tighter against her.

Alex soothes the bite with her tongue, then lifts her head and looks up at Piper.

"Hands, Piper," she says, her voice carrying a deeper husk than usual.

Piper's hands have tightened in Alex's hair, pulling it hard as she tries to keep her head in place. She releases her grip slightly, but doesn't let go.

Alex shakes her head slightly, then speaks again. "No hands."

Piper raises her head from the pillow and looks at the other woman, "You can't be serious."

"Oh I'm serious," Alex replies with a smirk. "No touching."

"I don't think… I don't think I can," Piper admits.

"Sure you can," Alex responds, dipping her head briefly and dragging her teeth across her nipple again. "You _must_."

Piper shivers at the tone of Alex's voice, then lets her hands slide from her hair and fall to the bed.

She's rewarded by Alex's lips closing around her nipple again, before switching sides and showing the same deliberate attentiveness to her other breast. Her hands clench into fists, pulling at the bedsheets as she struggles to keep them away from the woman who is so carefully and purposefully drawing pleasure from her with her exquisite touch.

Alex bathes Piper's small right breast with kisses, noting the way her body tenses and relaxes dependent on the pressure and location of her touch. Unsurprisingly she draws the greatest response whenever she focuses her attention on Piper's nipple, which is now a darkened, hardened peak. Her back arches whenever Alex's mouth lingers there, but she's keeping her hands away and Alex is quietly delighted at this show of restraint. She wonders for a moment if she could bring Piper to climax just by doing this, but she knows that her own desire won't allow her to test that notion right now.

Alex's hands push down on Piper's hips and she kisses between her breasts, then lower, pressing her lips to the soft skin of Piper's abdomen. She kisses a line starting close to Piper's hip, just above the waistband of her loaned pyjama bottoms, around to beneath her navel. She inhales deeply through her nose, the unmistakeable smell of Piper's arousal filling her nostrils. Alex hooks her fingers into the waistband of the pyjamas and looks up at Piper, smiling slightly when the other woman lifts her hips a little, raising her ass from the bed, both consenting and assisting as Alex takes the cue and pulls the pyjamas down past her thighs, then off completely.

She resumes her position kneeling between Piper's legs, then leans down and kisses the inside of her right knee. Piper flinches and jerks her leg away, then feels Alex's hand curl around her calf and hold her firmly in place. Alex lips again touch the inside of her knee, then slowly, agonisingly, begin to kiss a trail up the inside of her thigh. Piper squirms, twisting away from the delicate almost ticklish touch, but Alex persists. The kisses are gentle at first, but soon become interspersed with small bites and although Piper fights it, it doesn't take long for both of her hands to release their death-grip on the bedsheets and find their way to Alex's head again. She tries to push her away whilst twisting away from her mouth, unable to take much more of this teasing, torturous touch.

She thinks she's been successful in pushing Alex away, then she opens her eyes and sees the look on the other woman's face.

Alex has pushed herself up and is once again kneeling upright between her legs.

"I said _no hands_, Piper." Her tone has an edge to it, but there's also a hint of playfulness and Piper doesn't know if she's serious or not.

Piper's breathing quickens just at the sound of Alex's voice. "I… I'm sorry, I-"

"Am I gonna have to cuff you?" Alex cuts her off with her question and Piper's cheeks immediately flush with colour. She tries to speak but all that comes out is a choked gasp.

Alex arches one eyebrow and sits back on her haunches. "Well _fuck_," she says with a smirk. "_Really_?"

Piper clears her throat and tries to speak again, but then realises she doesn't know what to say. She shrugs one shoulder and pushes her hair out of her face. She turns her face to the side, and can't quite meet Alex's eye.

Alex drops down, her left forearm flat on the mattress beside Piper's torso taking her weight. She uses her right hand to push a lock of hair behind Piper's ear, then one finger from the same hand to trace along her jaw and turn her face towards her.

Piper has closed her eyes again, but opens them when Alex murmurs "Look at me."

"We can do that," Alex says, her voice soft and quiet when Piper's eyes meet her own. "But I don't think we need to right now. I think you can do as I asked and keep your hands to yourself. What do you think?"

Piper finds her mouth has gone dry, so she swallows thickly and just nods her head in response.

"But we can do that. I would _love_ to have you completely at my mercy."

Piper nods her head again, twice, quickly.

"Another time, yeah?" She leans down and kisses Piper's lips briefly. "I'll tie you up and hold you down, have my way with you, however I want to, for as long as I want to…"

Piper presses her lips together and squeezes her eyes closed. Her breathing is heavy now and Alex has absolutely no doubt that this is a scenario they're going to get to sooner rather than later, given Piper's reaction to her words.

"But right now," Alex continues, pausing to kiss Piper's lips again softly, "you're going to show me what a good girl you can be, okay?"

"Okay," Piper manages, choking out the word.

Alex kisses along Piper's jaw, and nuzzles the small hollow just behind and below her ear. "You told me how good you can be, remember? I know you can do it, Pipes," she whispers, "I know you can."

Piper nods her head again, and slowly moves her arms. She slides her hands under the pillow beneath her head, and holds it tightly.

Alex watches, her smile growing, then she takes Piper's earlobe between her teeth and bites down very gently. Piper arches her head back in response and Alex releases her after a moment. "God, I'm so desperate to taste you," she whispers directly into Piper's ear.

Piper lets out a long, plaintive moan and her hips lift from the bed, her body turning towards Alex seeking her touch.

Alex kisses Piper's neck wetly, then pushes away and resumes her position between her legs. Piper lifts her head from the pillow and watches for a moment, then lets her head fall back again when Alex's mouth restarts its previous journey, placing gentle kisses along the inside of her thigh.

Piper lets her right knee fall to the side, showing Alex more of the delicate skin on the inside of her thigh, Alex continues her slow, excruciating trail, moving ever closer to where she wants to be. The higher she moves up Piper's leg, the stronger the smell of her arousal becomes and Alex really doesn't think she can drag this out much longer.

She reaches the top of Piper's thigh and runs her nose along the crease of the other woman's hip, noting how perfectly still Piper is holding herself. She shifts position slightly, her face now just centimetres from Piper's centre and pauses, inhaling her scent, her breath hot against Piper's wet and glistening folds.

She looks up at Piper, at her head pushed into the pillow, eyes tightly closed, hands out of sight beneath her. Piper is holding her breath, her whole body taut with anticipation.

"Breathe, Piper," Alex murmurs, and as Piper lets out the breath she's been holding Alex moves in, her tongue gathering the wetness that's seeping from Piper's core and dragging it upwards, through her centre, and pausing against her small, swollen, pulsing clitoris for just a moment, before repeating the motion again, and again, and again.

Piper is writhing beneath Alex immediately. Her hips are moving without any conscious direction from her brain, and Alex has to push her arms beneath beneath Piper's thighs and curl her hands around them to try and keep just a semblance of control. She pulls against Piper's thighs, holding her in place as she focuses all of her attention on her pussy, lapping at her flushed folds, flicking her tongue against that small pulsing nub and then, just for a moment, sucking on it.

It's this latter movement that tears a cry from Piper's lips. She'd been biting the inside of her lip, struggling to keep quiet, but once this cry escapes her the floodgates are opened and the air is filled with quiet, desperate curse words and breathless pleas for more.

Alex responds the only way she can, by giving Piper the _more_ she's desperately pleading for. She listens and reacts to Piper's moans, repeating the actions that seem to draw the loudest responses, all of her senses heightened and attuned to the woman beneath her.

Alex delves her tongue into Piper's centre and this action ignites a fire that's been smouldering inside her. A wanton moan fills the room and Piper's hips push up, trying to take more of Alex inside her. The fire that's been pooling low in her abdomen ignites and floods her veins, time seems to slow and white light explodes behind her closed eyelids. A cry that sounds vaguely like Alex's name is ripped from her throat as Piper comes, her hips bucking against Alex who can do little but hold on.

As Piper's orgasm begins to subside, Alex returns to delivering gentle kisses and lapping at her sensitive, swollen centre. She feels Piper shudder beneath her, then hears her voice, quiet, almost fractured in its frailty.

"Alex?"

"Mmm?" she responds, her face still buried between Piper's legs.

"H-hands," she stutters, "can I…?"

Alex pulls away and looks up at Piper, then smiles. "Yes," she murmurs, giving Piper the permission she seeks.

Alex dips her head, not quite ready to give up lavishing attention on Piper's centre, but is stopped almost immediately by the feeling of Piper's hands in her hair again, this time pulling insistently and tugging her upwards.

Piper stops pulling when Alex's face is in front of her own. In the dim light cast from the bedside lamp she can see the evidence of her own arousal glistening on Alex's chin, her swollen lips, even the bridge of her nose. As she lifts her own her own head, she pulls Alex down to her, kissing her desperately. Alex allows Piper to take the lead, relaxing into the kiss as Piper hungrily chases the taste of herself in Alex's mouth.

Eventually the kiss slows, the urgency seeps away and what's left are soft, slow, gentle, almost exploratory kisses. They pull away at the same time, the kiss breaking, but they remain close, breathing each other's breath.

"You did well," Alex smiles after a moment, her voice soft. "I really didn't think you'd keep your hands away."

"God, I didn't want to," Piper replies, "I was so desperate to touch you."

"I really thought I might have to break the cuffs out," Alex grins whilst raising her eyebrow, and Piper groans and pushes her away.

Alex lies beside her, on her side, still facing Piper who remains on her back, seemingly one with the mattress beneath her.

"I can't believe you managed to get that out of me," Piper admits, pulling a sheet up to her waist, covering them both. "Not so soon at least."

"Well I already knew about your uniform fetish, so I guess it wasn't a massive leap from there," Alex teases, grinning.

Even in the dim light, Alex can see the blush that's tingeing Piper's skin. She leans in and drops a kiss on her collarbone, then another, then a third.

"Can we never mention it ever again?" Piper asks hopefully.

Alex pushes up onto an elbow, resting her head in her hand. She looks down at Piper curiously.

"Are you embarrassed?" she asks, genuinely a little taken aback.

Piper shrugs, which is answer enough in itself.

"Oh God, don't be," Alex replies. "Seriously."

Piper looks up at her, "No?"

"God no," Alex whispers, moving closer, "I can't think of anything hotter."

Piper smiles, uncertainly at first, but then wider when she realises Alex is serious. Their lips meet in another slow, lazy kiss and Piper slides her hand into Alex's hair again.

"Ready to go again?" Alex asks, breaking the kiss to murmur the words against her lips, her left hand already snaking its way down Piper's naked form.

"Wait, stop, no," Piper says, trying to take hold of Alex's hand beneath the sheet. "It has to be my turn, surely. I mean, I already… y'know…"

Alex grins, then leans in and kisses Piper again, running her tongue along her bottom lip.

"I don't believe in _turns_, Pipes," she says between kisses, her hand continuing its southward journey, "and now I've tasted you once," another kiss, "I just want more."

Before Piper can reply, Alex's head disappears beneath the sheet and she feels hands push against her hips again.

"Me too," Piper smiles, and relaxes into Alex's touch again.


	13. Chapter 13

"Ready to go again?" Alex asks, breaking the kiss to murmur the words against her lips, her left hand already snaking its way down Piper's naked form.

"Wait, stop, no," Piper says, trying to take hold of Alex's hand beneath the sheet. "It has to be my turn, surely. I mean, I already… y'know…"

Alex grins, then leans in and kisses Piper again, running her tongue along her bottom lip.

"I don't believe in _turns_, Pipes," she says between kisses, her hand continuing its southward journey, "and now I've tasted you once," another kiss, "I just want more."

Before Piper can reply, Alex's head disappears beneath the sheet and she feels hands push against her hips again.

"Me too," Piper smiles, and relaxes into Alex's touch again.

.

* * *

.

They sleep late into the morning, and it's nearing midday when they finally drag themselves from bed. After showering and dressing, they're both in the kitchen and Alex is peering into the fridge.

"I really need to do some grocery shopping," she says as she steps back and pushes the door closed. "I have some fruit loaf in the cupboard, but toast is about as much as I can offer you I think."

"We could go out?" Piper suggests, wondering why she made it sound like a question. "We could go grab some breakfast, or lunch or whatever it is, then pick up some supplies after we've eaten. I have my car, which has to be easier than carrying your groceries on your bike."

Alex has to admit she has a point. She usually orders online for home delivery, but she's been so caught up the last few days she hasn't got around to it.

"Sounds like a plan. There's a great little cafe downtown where we could get breakfast, we could probably walk there, then come back here for your car? I need to head into Fort Lee for the groceries."

This is how they spend their Sunday. Walking hand-in-hand through the leafy streets of Leonia, sharing almond croissants and artisan coffee, then driving to Fort Lee and wandering the aisles of ACME Markets, Piper pushing the shopping cart and making inappropriate comments about zucchini whilst Alex does her shopping.

It's approaching four when they make it back to Alex's house, and Piper helps her unload the shopping. She sits in a chair at the table watching as Alex unpacks the groceries and puts it all away, so as not to get in her way.

"I should probably think about heading home," she says, when Alex is nearly finished.

"Should you?" Alex replies, glancing back over her shoulder as she puts some tomatoes in the fridge.

When Piper doesn't respond, Alex straightens and turns toward her. "You packed a bag for spending the weekend with your parents, didn't you?"

Piper nods her head.

"And you still have that with you? I'm guessing that's a yes, or else I have no idea what I tripped over when I went to the bathroom at five a.m…." Alex smiles.

"Sorry!"

"And you have a toothbrush all of your own here now…"

Piper grins. "I have two. There's one in my bag as well."

Alex pulls out a chair at the table and sits, turning toward Piper. "And you're welcome here, very welcome. I'm in no hurry for you to leave."

"No?" Piper asks, looking at Alex sideways.

"Have I been sending out different signals?" Alex replies, raising one questioning eyebrow.

"Well no, I… no."

Alex shrugs her shoulders. "Soooo…?"

Piper ducks her head shyly, breaking eye contact. Alex reaches out and takes hold of her hand, squeezing her fingers gently.

"I don't want to overstay my welcome," Piper finally says in a quiet voice. She looks at Alex briefly before looking down at their joined hands and continuing. "I don't want to be _that_ woman."

Alex looks at Piper for a few seconds, waiting to see if she's going to expand on this. When she doesn't she prompts her gently. "What woman?"

Piper chews the inside of her lower lip, then looks up at Alex. "I like you, Alex," she says, then stops again.

"I like you too, kid," Alex says, a little confused.

"I don't want to be that woman. The one night stand who doesn't take the hint and won't leave."

Alex actually laughs, the words coming out of Piper's mouth sounding so absurd to her. She stops suddenly when she sees the look on Piper's face, a mixture of surprise and hurt and confusion. "Oh my God you're serious!" Alex says when the realisation hits her.

Piper tries to withdraw her hand, but Alex only holds it tighter. "Piper, Pipes, _no,_" Alex says with heavy emphasis on the final word.

Piper keeps her head tilted down and Alex takes a moment to order her thoughts. This show of insecurity from Piper is a complete contrast to the confident, playful, self-assured woman she's become used to.

Alex hooks her feet around the legs of her chair and scoots forward a little, moving closer to Piper. "Seriously Piper. No."

Piper lifts her head slightly and glances at Alex, who ducks her head a little to maintain eye contact. She offers her a small smile and continues quieter "I'm happy you're here, okay?"

"Mmkay," Piper replies.

"And I don't want you to leave."

Piper nods, and smiles very slightly. "You're sure?"

"I promise you that if that changes, I'll tell you. How's that?"

"Yeah?"

"Yah-huh," Alex replies, smiling. "I'll just straight up tell you."

Piper smiles more, looking at Alex more directly. "You will?"

"Yep. No hesitation. I'll just be like '_Pipes, go the fuck home_', how's that?"

Piper laughs softly and Alex smiles. "That's pretty clear. I don't think I'd miss that subtle hint."

Alex squeezes her hand again, causing Piper to meet her eye. "But I say again, I'm happy you're here, okay?"

"Okay," Piper says, her cheeks flushing slightly. "Okay, good."

Alex leans closer and places a gentle kiss on Piper's cheek, then another. She then releases Piper's hand and pushes her chair back. Standing, she returns to putting away the groceries.

"So now that's settled," Alex says, her back to Piper as she busies herself with the supplies, "how about I prepare us some dinner, then we spend the evening on the couch watching mind-numbing television?"

Alex can hear the smile in Piper's voice when she replies "Sounds pretty much perfect to me".

Six hours later, after dinner and wine and four episodes of a BBC drama that has them both hooked, they're lying on the couch about to head into episode five. Alex has her back pressed into the rear of the couch and Piper lies in front of her, her back against Alex's front. Alex has an arm draped loosely over Piper's waist, and Piper has entwined their fingers.

"Piper?" Alex says quietly, as the opening credits start to play, a question in her voice.

"Mmm?"

"I don't know what this is, kid, but I can tell you for sure it's no one night stand."

Piper lies still for a moment, then tilts her head back and shifts slightly on the couch trying to see Alex. It's been hours since they moved on from that particular conversation, but clearly she's still been thinking about it.

Piper moves onto her back, then turns again so she's facing Alex, both of them lying on their sides. They look at each other for a few moments, neither of them speaking. Piper moves her hand up and brushes Alex's dark hair back from her face, pushing it behind her ear. She lets her gaze drift over Alex's angular features, before coming to rest on her full lips.

"I'm going to kiss you now," she murmurs, and Alex's lips curl into a tiny smile.

Piper closes the small gap between them and brushes her lips against Alex's. She feels the exhalation of breath that Alex releases, a gentle rush of warm air against her skin. She touches her tongue to Alex's bottom lip and feels her mouth open slightly, inviting her in. Piper takes up the invitation, her tongue exploring the dark warmth of Alex's mouth, savouring her taste and touch.

Piper feels Alex's fingers at her waist curl and hook inside the belt loop on her jeans, pulling her closer as the kiss deepens.

_No_, she thinks as she loses herself in Alex again, _this is no one night stand_.

.

* * *

.

"You gonna be good for work tomorrow, or are you taking a few days?"

"Nah, I'm good to go."

"You sure?"

Alex can hear the doubt in Washington's voice and is quick to reassure her. "I'm sure. Honestly P, I've had a good weekend, I've rested and relaxed, my arm is feeling great. I'm all good."

Alex smiles at Piper as she exits the kitchen and joins her on the deck, placing two glasses of OJ on the table before taking the seat next to her. Alex places her finger against her lips, then mouths 'P' at her. Piper smiles and nods her understanding, and remains quiet.

"Okay, well I'll swing by a little after six and pick you up then."

"Wait what?"

"You bike's still at work, right?"

"Shit, yeah. Yeah it is." Alex hadn't given her bike a second thought, but Washington was right. It remained in the compound at the station house, parked up where she'd left it when she arrived for work on Thursday night. Whilst she had other bikes she could ride to work, it wouldn't change the fact that one would always remain stuck there.

"So six then, or is that too early?"

"No, P, don't come get me. It's a million miles out of your way. I'll catch the bus or take an Uber or something, I'll just meet you there."

Piper, sitting next to Alex, catches the drift of the conversation and points her thumb at her own chest then mimes driving, her arms outstretched and hands on an imaginary steering wheel. Alex nods her understanding, but Washington is insistent.

"I'm not letting you take the fucking bus, Vause. Don't be ridiculous. I took you home Friday morning, I'll bring you back again tomorrow. It's no big deal."

"There's really no-"

"Enough," Washington interrupts, cutting Alex off. "I'm not getting into a discussion about this. I'll see you at six."

Alex sighs and admits defeat. "Six a.m., see you then."

They say their goodbyes and Alex hangs up the phone.

"She just wants to see for herself that you're okay," Piper offers. "She wants that little bit of time alone with you on the ride into the city to assure herself you're okay before you get to work and are swamped by other people. That's all it is."

Alex reaches for her juice and takes a sip while Piper talks. "Yeah, I guess that makes sense."

"Cut her some slack, Al. She just cares about you."

Alex nods and watches Vincent as he strolls through the backyard heading for the two of them. He pads up the steps and pauses in front of them both before choosing Piper's lap as his destination. Piper scratches behind the cat's ears and his purring begins almost instantly.

It's midday on Monday, and the two women had slept late again. What had started as a slow, lazy kiss on the couch had turned into several hours of prolonged love-making, both women still learning about the other and drawing out their pleasure into the wee small hours of the morning. Alex watches as Piper strokes the cat, but her mind drifts back to the bedroom and the feeling of Piper's heels digging into her shoulderblades as she made her come for the second - but not final – time the previous night.

"What're you thinking about?"

Piper's voice pierces Alex's consciousness and she looks up at her quickly. She ponders her options for just a second, but honesty remains her policy.

"The way your breath hitches and how much you swear when you come."

Piper's mouth falls open in surprise, and Alex chuckles quietly.

"Well you _did_ ask."

"I did," Piper splutters, "but I wasn't expecting _that_ answer!"

Alex shrugs her shoulders. "It's what I was thinking about. Well that and your heels pressing into my shoulderblades, honestly. You were pushing down with your heels as you lifted your hips up, when I was-"

"Yes I know what you were doing!" Piper cuts Alex off.

Alex laughs out loud and Piper's cheeks turn crimson. "I can't believe you're being coy about it, given the stream of filth that came from your mouth when you were coming."

"I thought you were thinking about Washington and her need to take you into work tomorrow, and how she cares about you, and how nice it is to have such a supportive partner, I had no idea your mind had gone _there_!"

"I love the way you taste," Alex replies, looking Piper in the eye, not being swayed from her train of thought.

"I, uh-"

Alex's tongue darts out to wet her lips and Piper is momentarily distracted by this movement.

"And smell," Alex continues, drawing in a deep breath through her nostrils. She allows her eyes to close just for a moment, then releases her breath. "God, that combination…"

Piper clears her throat quietly and presses her thighs together.

Alex opens her eyes and looks back at Piper. Her lips twitch into a hint of a smile as she watches Piper's throat constrict as she tries to swallow.

"Mouth gone dry, Pipes?" Alex asks, her voice a little lower, that familiar smirk on her face.

"It's, ah…" Piper pauses to swallow again and Alex doesn't miss a beat.

"How about your pussy?" she interrupts, keeping her face carefully neutral.

A small surprised gasp escapes Piper, but to Alex's delight she recovers quickly. "I think you know the answer to that already," she replies, trying to keep the quake from her voice.

As Alex watches, she gently shoos the now-sleeping cat from her lap. Piper crosses her legs and shifts slightly in her seat.

"Tell me anyway," Alex says, her voice rasping.

"Let me show you," Piper replies, then slowly rises to her feet. She holds a hand out towards Alex who looks up at her and smiles before reaching out and taking it.

.

* * *

.

Monday afternoon is drifting into evening and Alex is seated in the armchair in her living room sorting through email when she hears Piper finish in the shower then move around upstairs, before she enters the room and drops her bag onto the couch. Alex notices that she is wearing shoes for the first time today.

She closes the lid of her laptop and slides it onto the bookshelf. "You look like you're ready to go."

"I am," Piper nods, "I think I have everything."

Alex lets out a quiet sigh and presses her hands into the arms of the chair, pushing herself up to standing.

"You really can't stay?"

"You know I can't, Al," Piper replies, a hint of regret in her voice. "I really do have to sort my kit for work tomorrow."

Piper takes a couple of steps closer to Alex as she's speaking. She takes hold of the inside edges of Alex's long cardigan and tugs slightly, bringing Alex even closer.

"I don't want to go though," Piper murmurs. "It's gonna feel strange climbing into bed alone tonight."

Alex smiles a little. "Same."

Both women remain silent for a few long moments. Piper still has hold of Alex's cardigan, her eyes are fixed on a small blemish on the left side of her neck, just below her ear.

"I had fun this weekend," Piper eventually says, her voice soft and quiet, still looking at Alex's neck.

"Me too," Alex murmurs.

"And…" she trails off, trying to work out how to say what she wants to.

"And?" Alex prompts.

A small frown creases Piper's forehead very briefly. "And I don't know what happens next," she admits, looking up at Alex at last.

Alex tilts her head slightly, looking at Piper curiously. _Again with the hint of insecurity_, she thinks. She looks at Piper in silence for a couple of seconds, then brings both of her hands up to cup her face. She leans in and slowly and softly kisses Piper's lips, cradling her head in her hands, thumbs gently brushing her cheekbones. She feels Piper's exhalation of breath against her lips as she pulls away.

"You go home," Alex murmurs, "and you get your kit ready for work tomorrow, then you sleep, and work and then after work, you let me take you for dinner. How does that work for you, with what happens next?"

Piper's smile is quick and genuine. "It's a date," she replies.

"It really is," Alex confirms, unable to suppress a smile herself.

.

* * *

.

By the time she reaches the briefing room the following morning, Alex has exchanged greetings with every single member of her shift, all of whom have deliberately sought her out to check her wellbeing. She's grateful for their obvious concern, but even more grateful when briefing is over and she is released to the quiet sanctuary of her patrol car with just her partner for company.

"Wanna drive?" Washington asks, holding up her hand and twirling the car keys around her index finger as they approach the vehicle.

"Nah, you've got it." Alex replies, walking around to the passenger side and sliding in. "Can we go grab coffee though? I slept like shit last night."

Washington steers the cruiser out of the station house and takes a left onto Broadway, heading towards Columbia University and the coffee shop just off campus that she knows is Alex's favourite.

"Why the shit sleep?" Washington asks, trying to sound as if she's asking out of interest and not concern and failing miserably.

The answer, Alex knows, is that Piper wasn't there. That's the truth of it, but she's nowhere near ready to disclose that to her partner.

"I don't know," Alex shrugs. "But I fell asleep in the afternoon yesterday, so I think I just fucked up my clock a little."

Not a total lie. She did sleep for a little while after she and Piper had whiled away another couple of hours exploring each others' bodies in the bedroom.

She looks out of the window, at the passing city streets beginning to wake around her, but again she finds her mind drifting off to thoughts of Piper. Piper's lithe, toned body lying in her bed, a cotton sheet draped across her waist, sleeping with a small content smile on her lips, exhausted and sated after another afternoon of delightful discovery.

It's Washington's fingers clicking in front of her face that bring her back to the present. She looks across at her partner, a little startled. "Huh?"

"I said we're here."

Alex looks around outside the vehicle and notices they've come to a stop outside the coffee shop. Washington is looking at her questioningly. "You _sure_ you're okay?"

Alex shakes her head dismissively and unbuckles her seatbelt. "Yeah, yeah I'm good." She pushes open the car door and steps out into the road. "Usual?" she asks, glancing back at her partner.

"Yeah, thanks." Washington replies, and Alex heads into the coffee shop acutely aware of her partner's eyes following her every step of the way.

.

* * *

.

At three, with an hour of their shift remaining, they receive a 10-2 call, ordering them to return to the station house.

"Sweeeeeeet," Washington says, "looks like we might be getting an early dart."

Alex hums her agreement and relaxes back into her seat. She's trying to decide where to take Piper for dinner when Washington speaks again.

"Want to grab something to eat after work?"

Before Alex can reply, Washington continues. "Actually, let me rephrase that: Daya says to tell you we're taking you to dinner tonight."

"Aw hey, that's good and all, but I can't. I have-" she stops, distracted by the vibrating of her phone in her pocket.

"Dude, if you say you have plans, you need to change them. Seriously. She's been worried about you all weekend, I think she needs to see you to see for herself that you're okay."

As Washington is speaking, Alex is pulling her phone from her pocket. She sees the new message on her screen. It's from Piper.

_P is going to invite you to dinner tonight.  
Diaz's instruction. You should say yes. x_

Alex reads the message and frowns as she taps out a reply.

_Can't. I have a date._

The response comes immediately.

_Your date has also been invited.  
__Say yes. x_

Washington, still driving, glances across at her partner. "Everything okay?"

Alex pushes the phone back into her pocket. "Yeah, all good," she replies. "So, dinner. Where and when?"

Washington lets out a sigh of relief. "The Ribbon on 72nd. Is six too early?"

"Make it six-thirty and I'll see you there."

The car slows to a stop outside the 26th and both women exit the vehicle. "Cool, I'll let Daya know. And thanks, I just think… you know, she just worries."

"Because she loves me more than she loves you, yeah, I know," Alex teases, grinning.

"Yeah and that'll always amaze me, given that you're an asshole."

Alex laughs and the banter continues as they head into the house, where Martinez on the front desk greets them.

"Ah you're here. Good. L-T wants to see you Vause. He said you're to go straight up."

Alex frowns slightly and looks at her partner who shrugs. "It'll be a welfare thing. I'll go de-kit. Want me to stick around?"

"Nah," Alex replies. "Go home. I'll see you tonight."

Washington claps her on the shoulder as she passes. "Later."

.

* * *

.

Three hours later Alex finds herself in the back of an Uber heading to the Upper West Side. She's showered and changed after work and is wearing a pair of black jeans and a deep green flowing blouse, with her usual leather jacket completing her look. She's swapped her contacts out for her glasses and is talking on the phone with Nicky as the driver takes her into the city.

"So wait, let me get this straight, you're going to dinner with your partner and her girlfriend, who also happens to be your girlfriend's partner, and your partner and her girlfriend don't know that her partner is your girlfriend?"

"Uh, _what_?"

"Yeah, see? It's complicated!"

"No just a second, who ever said anything about Piper being my _girlfriend_?"

"I did, just then."

"Yes I got that, but-"

"Oh c'mon, Vause, I've seen the way you look at Little Miss Different and Special. Don't get your panties in a knot about semantics now."

Alex remains silent, unsure how best to reply.

"What? You'd prefer if I call her your fuck buddy or something?"

"You're one to talk," Alex counters. "They way you reacted when I told Piper that Lorna was your girlfriend at the weekend."

Nicky really can't argue with that. Instead she continues "So what is she then?"

Alex shrugs one shoulder, even though Nicky can't see. "I don't know," she mumbles. "We just hung out."

"And fucked."

"Well, yeah. But…"

"But?"

"But I don't know. It wasn't just about the sex."

"Different and special, I remember. Did you ever make it to the bedroom, by the way? Or is your kitchen table your new favourite place to fuck now?"

"Fuck you. I still can't believe you just calmly offered her your hand and introduced yourself after walking in on that!"

Nicky laughs heartily. "Right? But you know what was more surprising? The way she just casually acted like nothing was amiss and took it. Shook my hand, introduced herself right back like it was the most normal thing in the world and you weren't standing there with your hand in her pants."

Alex laughs quietly. "Yeah that was pretty special," she agrees.

"She's a keeper, Vause. If she isn't your girlfriend, you should change that pretty quick. Don't let her get away."

"I gotta go," Alex says, noticing The Dakota out of the window. "I'm almost here."

"Have a good one."

"You too. Talk soon, Nic."

Alex terminates the call as the driver pulls the car to a stop. She thanks him and exits the vehicle, then checks her watch before heading into the already busy restaurant.

The first person she recognises when she enters is Washington, leaning against the bar. Her partner catches her eye and raises her hand, moving it as if drinking from an imaginary glass. Alex nods and mouths the word 'beer', then watches as Washington half-turns and points to a semi-circular booth in the back of the restaurant.

Alex looks in that direction, and sees Daya and Piper already seated. With a small nod of acknowledgement to her partner, she heads in that direction.

Piper spots her first, and smiles a little before placing her hand on Daya's forearm, interrupting her conversation. She points towards Alex and Daya immediately stands and moves out from her seat. As Alex arrives at the table, she's instantly enveloped in a hug from the shorter woman. She hugs her back and looks at Piper over Daya's shoulder, offering her a wink.

Piper grins, then purses her lips as if blowing her a kiss. Daya eventually releases Alex, then kisses her cheek before retaking her seat.

Alex removes her jacket and slides in alongside Piper. "Chapman," she says with a small smile. "Good to see you again."

"You too," Piper replies. "When Daya asked me to come this evening I was a little reluctant, I don't want to intrude."

"Nonsense," Alex says, "I'm glad you were free."

"Ha!" Daya blurts. "She wasn't! I've make her cancel plans to come here with us."

"Oh really?" Alex looks at Piper again, "Nothing important I hope."

Piper meets Alex's eye and tries to keep her face carefully neutral, fighting down the grin that's trying to escape. "Well I haven't had chance to thank you for what happened the other day, so I thought this was probably more important than anything else."

Alex dismisses this with a wave of the hand. "No need," she says. "I hope you haven't had to let anyone down."

"Dinner with a friend," Piper says, "I'm sure we can rearrange."

"Ah good," Alex replies, then adds with a smile "so long as we haven't kept you away from a hot date."

"Who's got a hot date?" Washington says as she arrives at the table with a tray of drinks, having just caught the end of Alex's statement.

Piper says "Nobody" at the exact same time as Diaz and Alex say "Piper". The three women laugh and Washington looks confused.

She passes the drinks out and then sits beside Daya.

"Damn, I thought it was you for a minute," she says, looking at Alex.

"Me? Why me?!"

"Oh I don't know," Washington continues, "maybe because I've spent the better part of eight hours stuck in car with you today looking at the goddamn hickey you're wearing."

"At the what?" Alex exclaims, her hand instantly flying to her neck.

"Where?" Daya and Piper say in unison, eyes wide.

"I don't have a hickey, she's bullshitting," Alex says, but doesn't remove her hand.

"The fuck I am! It's right there, left side, just below your ear!"

Daya leans forward across the table trying to get a better look. Piper, who is seated to Alex's right, leans right across in front of her, peering at her neck.

"Oh my God!" she gasps, her hand moving to her mouth.

"_What_?" Alex asks, staring at Piper aghast.

Piper tentatively moves her hand from her mouth to Alex's chin, and pushes slightly, turning Alex's head so she can get a better look. She leans in closer as if looking carefully and breathes "I'm so sorry but also that's so fucking hot," so only Alex can hear, then moves away, sits back in her seat and announces to the table, "Yep, can confirm, Alex has been getting some."

Everyone speaks at once. Daya is whooping and Washington is questioning and Piper is trying to act surprised. Alex starts with a denial but then sits silently, feeling her cheeks slowly getting warmer and warmer.

She reaches for her drink and takes a long pull from the bottle, just as she feels Piper's hand on her knee under the table. Piper gives her leg a gentle squeeze, then reaches for her own drink.

"So that's why you didn't want us to come over on Friday night!"

"No, actually," Alex replies defensively. "I was home alone on Friday night."

"Just not Saturday, Sunday or Monday," Piper chips in with a grin. She's teasing, and Washington and Diaz laugh at her doing so, but of course both she and Alex know she's speaking the truth.

"I can't believe you have a hickey, Al. What are you, like twelve?" Diaz laughs and Piper joins in.

Alex rolls her eyes and drinks more of her drink.

"Do you want some toothpaste to put on it or something? I might have some concealer in my purse…"

"Yeah yeah yeah," Alex says. "Okay, you can let it go now."

"Not a hope in hell, sweetheart," Diaz replies with a toothy grin. "It's gonna take _months_ for you to live this down."

Diaz laughs and Piper follows suit. Alex looks across at Washington who had fallen silent after the initial 'big reveal' and who, uncharacteristically, hasn't been joining in the teasing.

Washington meets her eye, then looks away without speaking and reaches for her drink.

"Don't," Alex says, still looking at her partner, her voice quiet.

The atmosphere changes in an instant with that one word, and Washington still doesn't meet Alex's eye. She takes a slug of her drink and doesn't reply.

"What?" Diaz asks, looking at her girlfriend then Alex, then back again. "What've I missed here?"

Alex feels Piper place her hand on her leg again, and another gentle squeeze. She covers Piper's hand with her own, then leans forward a little.

"Poussey," she says, deliberately using her first name. It takes another second, then Washington lifts her gaze and meets Alex's own. "It isn't what you think," Alex says, then after a pause, "I promise you, P, it isn't."

"I get that you almost died, Vause, but I've told you before about how she-"

"P!" Alex's voice is louder than she intended as she interrupts. She deliberately lowers her volume and speaks calmly but firmly. "Fucking _stop_, and _listen_ to me. I know, okay? I told you already. I know, and you were right. And I _promise_ you, it isn't what you think."

Washington holds Alex's gaze for a few more seconds, as if looking for any indication that Alex isn't speaking the absolute truth. Alex maintains the eye contact, never faltering, until Washington lifts her chin slightly in acknowledgement then takes another sip of her drink.

"Well if you think you're getting through an entire shift tomorrow without me hounding you for information about exactly _who_ you've spent the weekend fucking, you're gonna be sorely disappointed, let me tell ya."

The change in the atmosphere is palpable again, the tension dissipating with Washington's words.

"Damn, the entire shift?" Alex grins.

"Every single minute until I drag it outta you," Washington laughs.

"And tonight," Daya chips in with a grin, "we have the rest of tonight too, starting right now!"

Alex releases Piper's hand under the table and hold both hands up towards her partner defensively.

"Woah, no! No! I can't take that! It was Chapman, okay, it was Chapman here!" she laughs as she says this, and Piper's shocked expression combined with Alex's laughter is all the camouflage that's required.

"You should be so fucking lucky," Washington replies and Daya laughs beside her. "You're way outta her league, aren't you Chapman."

"Hell yes I am," Piper replies haughtily. "Like I'd ever be with someone who walks around with hickeys on show!"

And just like that, the conversation moves back to mocking Alex and her hickey. It's small, just beneath her ear, and not particularly noticeable… unless you're sitting beside someone for eight hours in a car with little else to look at.

Throughout the evening, Piper's hand keeps drifting back to Alex's leg, but the double-bluff appears to have worked perfectly. Alex remains coy throughout dinner despite the continued questioning about her sex life, and Piper answers honestly when Washington asks her how her family were when she visited over the weekend.

The rest of the evening passes without controversy or confrontation, but by nine-thirty, all are ready to head home for some rest before another early shift the following day. After settling the bill, the four are gathering their things, ready to head their separate ways.

Washington and Diaz are having a minor domestic about the quickest way to book an Uber and Alex catches Piper's eye.

"I'm just gonna use the bathroom before we leave," she announces, and heads in that direction.

Twenty seconds later, Piper tells the others that she too should use the bathroom before leaving, and tells them she'll meet them outside.

As soon as she enters the bathroom, a hand grabs her arm and drags her into an empty stall. She finds herself pushed up against the door with Alex kissing her hungrily. Piper returns the kiss with equal fervour, her hands clutching at whatever parts of Alex she can reach.

The kiss breaks after a minute and both women stand still, breathing heavily, their foreheads pressed together.

"I've been wanting to do that all night," Alex breathes, her eyes closed. "It's been killing me."

"Me too," Piper admits, kissing Alex's lips again. "Let's never do this again."

Alex smiles and steps back, straightening her clothes. "It wasn't my idea in the first place, remember."

Piper laughs quietly and exits the stall. She moves to stand in front of the mirror and runs her fingers through her mussed hair.

"I thought it might be fun," she says, looking at Alex in the mirror. "Being so close but not being able to have my way with you."

"I'm never letting you close to me again, Chapman," Alex says mock-sternly, then steps closer to the mirror and turns her head, trying to examine the wayward mark on her neck. "Not after you left this on me!"

Piper leans against the counter for a moment watching.

"There are other things that I can do with my teeth and my tongue that make me think you don't mean that for a moment, Officer Vause," Piper murmurs, and Alex really can't argue with that.


	14. Chapter 14

The kiss breaks after a minute and both women stand still, breathing heavily, their foreheads pressed together.

"I've been wanting to do that all night," Alex breathes, her eyes closed. "It's been killing me."

"Me too," Piper admits, kissing Alex's lips again. "Let's never do this again."

Alex smiles and steps back, straightening her clothes. "It wasn't my idea in the first place, remember."

Piper laughs quietly and exits the stall. She moves to stand in front of the mirror and runs her fingers through her mussed hair.

"I thought it might be fun," she says, looking at Alex in the mirror. "Being so close but not being able to have my way with you."

"I'm never letting you close to me again, Chapman," Alex says mock-sternly, then steps closer to the mirror and turns her head, trying to examine the wayward mark on her neck. "Not after you left this on me!"

Piper leans against the counter for a moment watching.

"There are other things that I can do with my teeth and my tongue that make me think you don't mean that for a moment, Officer Vause," Piper murmurs, and Alex really can't argue with that.

.

* * *

.

Wednesday morning, 8:15am, Morningside Heights. Officers Washington and Vause are eating breakfast in their patrol car whilst waiting for dispatch to rustle up some business for them.

"So," Washington starts, and Alex closes her eyes briefly, knowing what's coming. "You gonna spill or what?"

"Or what," Alex replies around a mouthful of bagel.

"Oh come on, why the secrecy? I tell you everything about my relationship!"

"We've been here before," Alex says, "you tell me _too much_ about your relationship. I'm not like you."

"I thought we were friends!" Washington protests.

"We _are_ friends, but a girl's got to have some secrets."

Washington ponders this for a few seconds, and sips her coffee. "But why?" she asks, "I don't understand why you won't talk about this. I mean, this is good, right?"

Alex shrugs.

"It isn't good?"

"No, it's good," Alex replies, and she can't quite suppress the small smile that appears. "It's really good." She looks across at her partner and smirks. "Like, _re__eeee__ally_ good, P."

Washington's eyes widen. "_R__eeee__eally_ good? Like, didn't get out of bed the entire weekend good?"

Alex laughs quietly. "We got out of bed," she pauses and adds "occasionally."

"Oh my god, I bet you got more action than I did, didn't you!"

"It's not a competition, you know," Alex chuckles, then goes back to eating her bagel.

"So does she have a name?" Washington asks after a few moments. "Where did you meet her?"

Alex shakes her head and eats her breakfast slowly.

"Oh come on! You've given me something, now I just need more!"

"Nope."

"Where does she live?"

"Nope."

"_Vause_! Give me something here! What does she do?"

"Nope."

"Is it someone I know? Is it… oh my god, have you and Nichols finally got your shit together?"

"Eww no!" Alex replies immediately, sounding horrified. "What the fuck? Where did _that_ come from?"

"Well, you know, you've always been close, so…"

"Jesus fuck no. Nicky? Holy shit. No. A thousand times no."

"Okay, okay," Washington says quietly, "just asking."

Alex balls up what's left of her bagel inside her napkin and pushes it into her now empty coffee cup. She watches a couple of students pass the car and head into the bagel shop, then pulls her phone from her pocket.

"Will you at least tell me her name?"

"Let it go!"

"I can't let it go, I'm under instruction from Daya. My entire relationship is on the line here, Vause, have a heart will ya?"

Alex laughs at this and looks across at her partner. "Seriously?"

"Seriously. She is so fucking delighted, but has this need for all the details. I've been tasked with getting them."

"Ah, so it's Daya who wants to know. You have absolutely no interest yourself."

Washington looks out of the window and scratches her cheek. "I didn't say that, exactly," she mumbles.

Alex grins, but remains silent. She opens the messages on her phone and carefully angles her body away from her partner as she taps out a text to Piper.

_I am getting grilled by my_

_partner about you. I have _

_another seven hours of this_

_ahead of me!_

"Is she hot?"

Alex looks across at her partner and rolls her eyes.

"No but really. Is she?"

Alex turns her phone over and over in her hands, thinking, then she looks at Washington again. "She's beautiful," she says, keeping her voice quiet. "Sure, she's hot. But more than that. She's fucking beautiful."

Washington looks surprised and for a moment she doesn't respond. Alex feels her phone vibrate in her hand and smiles a little, but doesn't immediately check the screen.

"Wow," Washington murmurs. "Beautiful, huh?"

Alex feels her cheeks heat up and glances at her partner before looking away.

"You really like her." There's a note of surprise in Washington's voice, but it's a statement, not a question, so Alex doesn't reply. She watches the students leave the bagel shop carrying their breakfast and head off towards Barnard College, then glances at her phone and sees Piper's reply.

_I'll make it up to you, _

_I promise. Tonight?_

Alex taps out a quick reply.

_Tonight. Call you when I_

_get off work. x_

She looks back at her partner and lets out a soft sigh.

"It's new, P. It's just really new, and it's good but I don't where it's going if it's going anywhere at all, and so…" Alex trails off and shrugs.

"And so you don't want to get into all the details, because you don't know if it's gonna last. I get it."

"Yeah," Alex replies. "Yeah, that's right. But also… I don't know… it _feels_ like more, you know?"

"It feels like it _could_ be more, or it _is_ more?"

"It just feels different," Alex admits, then she smiles a little, the word triggering a thought of Nicky. "Different and Special, that's what Nic calls her."

"Woah, hold on there. Nichols knows about her?"

Alex frowns a little and looks back at her partner. "Well, yeah. She knew I'd been seeing someone for a couple of weeks, but not who, and then at the weekend she-"

"For a couple of _weeks_?!" Washington interrupts, almost shouting.

"Well, um, yeah, we-"

"Oh my god! So when we locked up Buckley? And the dude on the building with the wife in Cuba-"

"Costa Rica," Alex corrects.

"All that time? So when I was saying you were so chill you must've got laid, you actually _had_!"

"Wait, well no, I mean…"

"Oh my fucking god! How many other hickeys have I missed?!"

Alex laughs and pushes her phone back into her pocket. "None. Definitely no more hickeys, I swear," she grins.

"God _damn_," Washington says quietly, almost thoughtful. "You really have kept this to yourself, haven't you."

Alex shrugs again and chooses to remain quiet.

"Different and Special," Washington muses. "I guess Daya's gonna have to settle for that."

.

* * *

.

Alex calls Piper's number as she's walking to the compound after finishing her shift.

"Hey Hot Cop," Piper answers after reading the caller ID, a smile in her voice.

"What're you wearing?"

Piper laughs softly. "Still my uniform, we had a late job."

"Hot." Alex grins.

"That's my fetish, find your own."

Alex laughs quietly, then asks "Where are you?"

"Sinai. Daya's just finishing up the paperwork and then we'll head back to the house."

"Okay," Alex says, swinging her leg over her bike, "want to do something later?"

"If by something you mean '_you_', then yes."

"You're so easy, Chapman."

Piper laughs softly. "You know it." Then, speaking quickly, "Daya's coming, I gotta go. Come to my apartment later?"

"Sure, okay."

"I'll make dinner. Eight-ish?"

"See you then."

"Oh and Al?"

"Yeah?"

"Bring a toothbrush and a change of clothes. You won't be going home tonight."

Alex grins and looks at the phone in her hand as Piper clears the call. "Yes ma'am."

.

* * *

.

After spending a couple of hours at home, feeding Vincent, changing her clothes and packing an overnight bag, Alex heads back over the river and into the city. She leaves her bike in the compound at work, then jumps on the subway at 125th and rides it all the way to 14th Street, from where it's only a brief walk to Piper's apartment. She makes two stops along the way, arriving a few minutes before eight.

She peers at the buzzers beside the door and find's Piper's surname, then presses it briefly.

She hears the door click and pushes it open, then moves inside the building and climbs the stairs to the first floor. The door to Piper's apartment is slightly ajar, and she eases it open with her knuckles whilst knocking gently and calling "Knock knock?"

She can see into a hallway and, closing the door behind her, follows the sound of Piper's voice as she calls out "In the kitchen!"

She walks into an open plan kitchen and living area, and finds Piper engulfed in a cloud of steam as she lifts the lid from a pot she's just removed from the oven.

Piper jerks her head back and blows her hair from her eyes. "Wow, unexpected sauna," she says, then turns to glance at Alex. "Sorry, one sec."

Alex lowers her backpack to the floor and leans against the frame of the door as she watches Piper with a small smile. She's wearing a sleeveless summer dress and is barefoot, her blonde hair falling loose to her shoulders. She turns the heat off from under a pan on the stovetop, then wipes her hands on a dishcloth that's slung over her shoulder before turning to Alex.

"Sorry," she smiles, "everything became ready at once."

"That's okay, isn't that how it's meant to work?"

Before Piper can reply, Alex produces a bunch of flowers that she's been holding behind her back. She offers them to Piper with a smile. "My mom taught me to never turn up to dinner empty handed."

Piper takes them, a little taken aback. "They're beautiful! Thank you. That's so thoughtful."

She turns to put them on the counter, but Alex speaks again. "Wait, I have something else for you!"

As she turns back, Alex steps into her, sliding an arm around her waist. She kisses Piper's smile, then moves away again, grinning.

"I think I like that even more than the flowers," Piper says, smiling.

"Not too cheesy?"

"Incredibly cheesy," Piper admits. "But never too much."

She turns away to find a vase, and Alex lifts her backpack up onto the counter. She unzips it and produces two bottles of wine, one red and one white.

"I didn't know what we were eating, so I brought both."

Piper looks back over her shoulder at the wine as she sorts out the flowers. "You're just the perfect dinner guest, aren't you!"

"Am I?"

Piper finishes arranging the flowers in the vase and carries it through to the living area, placing it on the wide windowsill.

"Flowers, wine, _and_ kisses?" she says as she passes. "I might have to keep you around."

Alex grins and thinks this would be no great hardship. She watches as Piper takes a couple of plates down from a cupboard and moves back to the pot on the stove.

"Anything I can do to help?"

"You could open the wine? Red. Corkscrew is in this drawer here," Piper nudges a drawer with her hip as she begins to plate up the pot roast she's prepared, "and glasses in the cupboard next to the sink."

Alex shrugs out of her jacket and places it under the counter with her backpack. She takes the glasses first and places them on the counter, then moves behind Piper to get to the drawer. She pauses, her hands on Piper's waist as she passes, looking over her shoulder at dinner. She places a gentle kiss on the side of Piper's neck and murmurs "Smells amazing", before taking the corkscrew and returning to the task at hand.

Alex places the glasses and the opened bottle of wine on the small dining table, allowing the wine to breathe. She takes a moment to look around the living room, which is small but tastefully decorated in pale colours with Scandinavian style furniture. There's lots of blond wood and canvas, but brightly coloured throws and a large modernist rug bring pops of colour to the room. It isn't minimalist, but there's a distinct lack of clutter. Everything appears ordered and organised, sleek and elegant, and Alex think it's suits Piper perfectly.

"You have a great place," Alex says, as she watches Piper approach with the plates of food.

Piper places the plates on the table and gestures for Alex to sit. "You see now what I meant about Carrie Bradshaw? Their studio must've been _huge_, because her apartment must be six times the size of this!"

"Size isn't everything, Chapman. It's not what you have, it's what you do with it that counts," Alex says with a grin as she pours the wine then takes her seat.

"I'll drink to that," Pipers smiles, raising her glass and chinking it against Alex's.

.

* * *

.

"So _then_ she said 'oh my god, have you and Nichols finally got your shit together' and I nearly choked on my goddamn breakfast!"

Piper laughs and leans into Alex. They're seated on the couch, finishing the wine from dinner, and Alex is telling Piper the tale of Washington grilling her that morning.

"Hmm, that's a thought though. Have you?"

"Have I what?"

"Have you and Nicky ever…?"

"God no!" Alex replies, "Jesus, just the thought makes me drier than a nun's… no! Hell no. We have never, ever, been there. Never."

"So that's a no then?" Piper asks, grinning.

"I know where she's been," Alex says, then smiles to show she's joking. "No seriously, I'm pretty sure I'm not her type and I know for certain she isn't mine. We're close, but there's close and there's fucking-your-sister and honestly, it'd be kinda like that. Neither of us has ever consumed so much alcohol to even hint at any interest in that department. It's just too icky to even contemplate."

"Well I have to say, I should thank you," Piper says, relaxing back against Alex. "The excitement of your newly-discovered sex life has totally distracted Daya from trying to work out who _Hot Cop_ is from me."

"Terrific. Happy to help," Alex replies, deadpan.

Piper grins and turns to look up at her. "And all because of one little hickey."

Alex shakes her head, laughing softly.

"You know I'm gonna make you pay for that, right?"

"I swear it was an accident," Piper says, but she can't quite hold back the smile that's fighting its way onto her face. "No it was, honestly it was," laughing now at the look on Alex's face, "and it's so _small _Alex_, _I mean, I noticed it on Monday just before I left, but I didn't think-_"_

"Wait, you knew it was _there_?!"

"Well, I thought maybe it was just a bruise." Piper's voice rises at the end of her sentence, the inflection making her statement sound more like a question. "And I thought it wasn't really _that_ noticeable…"

"Except to Eagle Eye Poussey."

"Isn't he a singer?"

"What?" Alex frowns and looks at Piper in confusion.

"_S__aaa__ave tonight and fight the break of dawn_," Piper sings, "_come tomorrow, tomorrow I'll be gone..._"

Alex laughs when she hears Piper's rendition of the song. "Stop trying to distract me with your nineties music knowledge. I'm still gonna make you pay."

"Aw but-"

"Aw but nothing. Don't you be giving me that doe-eyed look, Piper Chapman! I knew you struggled to keep your hands under control and I'll be needing cuffs for them, but I didn't know you had issues with your mouth as well. Seems I'm gonna have to gag you too!"

Piper just about manages to swallow her mouthful of wine before she's consumed by a fit of coughing, half of it going down the wrong way.

Alex laughs quietly, then reaches out and rubs Piper's back between her shoulderblades. When the coughing subsides, Piper turns toward Alex, her face flushed. Alex is grinning, but falters when she sees the look on Piper's face.

"W-what?" she asks, her smile returning then disappearing again, uncertainty taking its place.

Piper shifts her position on the couch, moving closer until she's straddling Alex, knees either side of her thighs, hands on the back of the couch. She looks down at her as Alex's hands automatically move to her hips.

"I hope your mouth isn't making promises you're not prepared to keep, Alex," Piper says, her voice low and sultry.

"Oh believe me," Alex replies, relieved and thrilled in equal measure, "I mean every single word I say when it comes to you."

Piper pulls her lower lip between her teeth, then smiles as she releases it. She leans in and kisses Alex softly, but it only takes moments for things to escalate. The tip of Alex's tongue touches Piper's bottom lip and she can't help but part her lips and allow access. Their tongues touch and withdraw, then touch again and roll over each other, and Piper moans into Alex's mouth.

Alex breaks the kiss and looks up at Piper. "You haven't given me the grand tour of your apartment," she murmurs, then brushes her nose against Piper's before continuing, "and I think I'm ready to see the bedroom now."

.

* * *

.

Later, lying in Piper's bed, the room lit only by the light filtering in from the hallway, Alex shifts onto her back, her forearm draped over her eyes as her breathing gradually slows.

"You okay?" Piper murmurs, pressing her lips to Alex's shoulder, just above the dressing still in place on her arm.

"I'm better than okay," Alex breathes.

Piper shuffles closer and rests her head on Alex's chest. Alex moves her arm and curls it around her shoulders, holding her loosely. She lets out a long, slow breath and Piper snuggles closer still.

"I think," Piper starts, her voice quiet and with a noticeable husk, "that if you ever did suddenly whip out the toys, you might kill us both."

Alex laughs, Piper can feel the vibrations through her chest although she doesn't make a sound.

"They'd find us together, naked, limbs entwined, handcuffed to the bedhead, ballgag in situ, smelling of sex and decomposition."

"Ah, the sweet sweet smell of decomposition," Alex sighs wistfully, causing Piper to laugh quietly.

"Sicko," she says, pressing a kiss to Alex's collarbone.

Alex smiles and trails a fingertip up and down Piper's tricep. After lying in silence for a minute she asks, softly, "Have you ever _used_ a ballgag, Pipes?"

Piper tilts her face up, trying to see Alex, but can't quite manage it. She rubs her cheek against Alex's chest again, then murmurs "Honestly? No."

"They hurt," Alex offers, keeping her voice soft, "I mean at first anyway. They make your jaw ache, and the soreness lasts for _days_. It's hard to breathe properly, and you can't swallow…"

She trails off and Piper remains quiet.

"So if you want to do that, the toys thing, I'm game. But not with a ballgag. At least, not at first."

"Okay," Piper breathes, keeping perfectly still.

"We'll use bondage tape," Alex adds, her voice still soft. "It'll do the same job but gentler, without the discomfort."

She feels Piper's body shift slightly against her. "Okay," Piper whispers, but even at such a low volume she can't keep the tremble from her voice. As Alex listens, she can even hear the quiet click as Piper struggles to swallow, her mouth and throat suddenly dry.

"Or even just my hand," Alex murmurs as she slowly slides out from under Piper's body.

She lies on her side, the two of them facing one another, and she keeps her eyes fixed on Piper's face as she brings her right hand up and strokes her cheek gently with the backs of her fingers.

"I mean, if the purpose is purely keeping you quiet, rather than another of the other restrictions, my hand could do that pretty well I think."

Piper almost imperceptibly turns her face towards Alex's hand and as soon as she does, Alex changes its position and slides it slowly over her mouth.

Piper inhales sharply through her nose, and Alex increases the pressure of her hand, watching as Piper's eyes go wider and darker at almost the same time.

"Like this, see?" Alex whispers, as she pushes Piper down and moves over her. Keeping her right hand firmly in place, her left moves to brush Piper's hair back from her face, then begins a slow, lazy trail down her body.

"And you can't tell me what to do," Alex breathes close to Piper's ear, "or what _not_ to do," she adds before sucking the skin on the side of her neck into her mouth. She stops after just a second, careful not to leave such an obvious mark in such a prominent place, and returns her mouth to Piper's ear, tugging on her earlobe with her teeth. Piper moves her hands, slowly sliding them over the mattress and under the pillow beneath her head. Alex notices, but doesn't comment.

"You can't tell me what you like," Alex whispers, her fingertips circling Piper's nipple, "or what you want more of," she says, pinching it between her thumb and forefinger, smiling a little as she feels Piper's back arch.

"You can't tell me what you want," she continues, her breath warm now in Piper's ear as her hand continues its journey down her body, "where you want me to touch, how you want me to do it…"

Alex hears a muffled moan from behind her right hand, as her left dips between Piper's legs. She smiles again, keeping her mouth to Piper's ear, "Or at least you can't tell me with your words. This, though…" she draws two fingers through Piper's wetness and whispers "this tells me all I need to know."

Piper groans and turns her head, trying to move out from behind Alex's hand. Alex just presses her hand down harder.

Alex lifts her head and looks down at Piper, who tries to turn her head again. She tries to speak, but again finds it isn't possible. Alex smiles very slightly, watching her.

"The only problem with this," Alex says, as she plays her fingertips around the entrance to Piper's core, "is that I can't kiss you."

Piper's eyebrows draw together and she tries to speak again, but can't.

"And I _do_ want to kiss you, Pipes,"

Piper's eyes go wider and she tries to nod her head behind Alex's hand. Alex smiles a little more, but still doesn't move her hand.

"Your hands are free," she reminds Piper gently. "You want me to stop, you just have to pull my hand away."

Piper nods again, conveying her understanding, but she keeps her hands firmly in place beneath the pillow.

"Do you have any idea how much I want to kiss you?" Alex whispers. "How much I love the feeling of your mouth on mine?"

Piper's breathing is becoming heavier. Alex can feel it in the pronounced rise of her chest, and the breath of air ghosting past her fingers with every exhale.

"I could kiss you forever and it would never be enough," Alex breathes, keeping her eyes on Piper's face. "Pushing my tongue into your mouth," she says at the exact moment she pushes two fingers into Piper's waiting body, "tasting you, feeling you, almost becoming a part of you."

Piper moans loudly and her hips lift up from the bed. Alex curls her fingers inside her and watches her face for any sign of discomfort. Seeing none, she continues.

"Fucking your mouth with my tongue," Alex says, her voice low and rasping, as she thrusts her fingers in and out of Piper's hot, wet, core. "Always wanting more, kissing you harder, and deeper, giving you more, taking more…"

Alex knows exactly what she's doing. Her words are matched by her actions as her fingers push harder, and deeper, giving Piper more, as she takes more with every thrust of her hips, pushing down onto Alex's hand, her movements becoming more desperate with every curl of Alex's fingers inside her.

Alex looks down at her, keeping her hand firmly in place over Piper's mouth, watching as she writhes on the bed beneath her, small, muffled moans trying to escape into the room, curtailed by the hand blocking their exit.

Without warning, Alex folds a third finger beside the other two and pushes all three into Piper with the next thrust. Piper's eyes fly open and then her brows draw together and a quiet cry is stifled by Alex's hand.

Alex watches Piper's face, studying the pain and the pleasure that paints her features with every thrust of her fingers or slight turn of her wrist. Piper's hips are now moving faster, pushing down harder on Alex's hand, setting their own rhythm as she chases her release.

"Fuck," Alex breathes, "you're so fucking beautiful."

A deep groan that starts way down in Piper's chest reverberates against Alex's hand, then her eyes squeeze closed as her hips push up and she clenches hard around Alex's fingers, her muscles going rigid for a moment before the release she's been racing towards crashes over her.

Piper can see nothing. Hear nothing. Everything fades to white noise as something inside her splinters and cracks and shockwaves ripple through her. Her whole body jerks against Alex and she tries to lift her head, her body curling into itself. A cry is again curtailed by the hand firmly covering her mouth and she wrenches her head to the side, but finds the hand moves with her. Her hips buck and Alex's fingers curl and she dimly thinks for a moment that she's not going to survive this onslaught.

Eventually Alex's fingers slow, and her hips follow suit as Alex carefully brings her down from her high. Her breathing is laboured but the trembling in her legs begins to subside and the earth rights itself on its axis once more.

"So fucking beautiful," Alex repeats, her voice barely more than a whisper.

Piper looks up at her, her eyes dark and suddenly, unexpectedly, overwhelmingly shining and brimming with tears.

Alex's own eyes widen when she notices and she immediately removes her hand from Piper's mouth. "Are you-"

She doesn't get any further. The moment she moves her hand, Piper raises her head and brings their lips together in a crashing, bruising kiss. The hands she'd so deliberately kept under the pillow find their way into Alex's hair and drag her head down, holding her in place as they kiss. Piper's eyes are squeezed closed and the unbidden tears subside as the kiss goes on. Only when she's certain they've truly gone does Piper release her grip in Alex's hair, move her hands to her arms, and begin to slow the kiss.

Alex starts to slowly withdraw her fingers and Piper moans into her mouth, then lets her head fall back to the pillow. Her breathing is ragged, and hitches when Alex's fingers finally exit her body. The feeling of emptiness, _the loss_, is acute and stark, and Piper holds onto Alex's arms even tighter.

Alex hisses in pain and Piper opens her eyes at the sound, realising as soon as she sees Alex's pained expression that she's digging her fingers into the still healing wound at the top of her arm.

"Oh my god, I'm-"

But Alex shakes her head, cutting her off. "It's okay."

"No, it's not okay, I'm so-"

"Beautiful," Alex says, cutting her off again. She looks down at Piper and smiles. Softly she continues, "That's what you are. You're so fucking beautiful."

Piper is still flushed from her orgasm, but even so her cheeks colour a little bit more. Alex smiles at her reaction, then flops onto her back beside her.

She lets out a heavy breath, then reaches for the sheets and pulls them up, loosely covering them both. She lies still for half a minute, then rolls her head on the pillow towards Piper.

"You okay Pipes?" she asks, her voice soft.

"I can't feel my legs," Piper replies, looking up at the ceiling.

Alex laughs, quietly at first, but then with more energy.

Piper smiles and looks over at her. As Alex's laughter subsides she speaks again.

"I think I might keep you, Alex Vause."

Alex smiles and leans in for a slow and gentle kiss. She could live with that.


	15. Chapter 15

She lets out a heavy breath, then reaches for the sheets and pulls them up, loosely covering them both. She lies still for half a minute, then rolls her head on the pillow towards Piper.

"You okay Pipes?" she asks, her voice soft.

"I can't feel my legs," Piper replies, looking up at the ceiling.

Alex laughs, quietly at first, but then with more energy.

Piper smiles and looks over at her. As Alex's laughter subsides she speaks again.

"I think I might keep you, Alex Vause."

Alex smiles and leans in for a slow and gentle kiss. She could live with that.

.

* * *

.

They wake early the next day, rays of autumn sunshine streaming through the open blinds. Alex stretches and groans quietly, easing the stiffness from her muscles and joints.

"We forgot to close the blinds," Piper mumbles, her face pressed into the pillow, hiding from the daylight.

"We were kinda busy," Alex replies, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on Piper's shoulder before sitting up and swinging her legs out of bed.

"Mmmm," Piper murmurs, "busy in the most amazing way."

Alex smiles and hums her agreement. "Okay if I go take a shower?" she asks, looking back at Piper over her shoulder.

"Only if I can come with you," Piper replies, opening one eye and looking up at Alex.

Alex pauses and looks back at her again, then grins. "I'm liking the way today is going already."

Piper smiles and rolls onto her back. The sheet slides down as she raises her hands above her head and stretches, and Alex can't stop herself from leaning down and closing her lips around Piper's newly exposed nipple.

Piper groans quietly and places a hand on the back of Alex's head, resting it gently there for a moment. "Stop that," she gasps as Alex sucks hard, before pushing her head away and twisting her body in the opposite direction.

"Aww, but…"

"But shower," Piper replies, pushing herself up.

"Yeah but…" Alex wets her lips with her tongue, her eyes falling to Piper's breasts again. "But that's fast becoming one of my favourite things to do, I'll be honest."

Piper looks back at Alex across the expanse of mattress between them. "Let's see if you're still saying that when I'm on my knees for you in the shower in a couple of minutes."

"Hngh," is all Alex can manage, her hand gathering a clutch of bedsheet and curling into a tight fist.

Piper grins and rises from the bed, padding naked from the room with Alex's eyes following her every step of the way. She pauses in the doorway and slowly beckons Alex with her index finger.

Alex has no power, or indeed will, to do anything but follow.

.

* * *

.

It's a fifteen minute walk to Red's diner, but it takes them closer to thirty. They're in no hurry, strolling through the streets of the Village and into Chelsea, pausing to look in the windows of various stores along the way.

"You're gonna be really early for work," Alex says as she pushes open the door to the diner, holding it so Piper can enter first.

"Yeah, I have a meeting though so I have to be there early anyway," Piper says, looking around at the tables.

Alex raises a hand to the familiar waitress and moves to her usual table, slinging her backpack onto the floor beneath it before taking her seat. Piper slides into the booth seat opposite her, and reaches for a menu.

"Meeting about what?" Alex asks.

"Huh?" Piper says, raising her head and looking across at Alex.

If Alex didn't know better, she'd say Piper was stalling for time. Pretending she hadn't heard the question in order to buy a fews seconds of thinking time.

"I said, what's your meeting about?"

"Oh nothing," Piper says dismissively, turning her attention back to the menu. "Just union stuff."

Alex watches her carefully for a few more seconds, saying nothing, but her instincts telling her Piper isn't being entirely open with her.

A waitress appears at their table and places two mugs down, filling them both with coffee. "She says to tell you she has the German sausage that you like, Alex."

Alex looks up and smiles. "Well I guess I better have that then, if I want to get out of here alive."

The waitress grins and scribbles on her order pad. "Omelette?"

"Yeah, please," Alex replies. "With cheese."

"And for you?" the waitress asks, turning to Piper.

Piper chooses an omelette with Monterrey Jack, spinach and prosciutto, and thanks the waitress with a polite smile.

"Coming right up," she says as she walks away.

"So what time is your meeting?" Alex asks, glancing at her watch.

"One-thirty."

"Mmkay," Alex replies. "You gonna catch the train?"

"Yeah. You gonna ride with me?"

"Nuh-uh," she says. "I packed my gym stuff, so I'm going to head there for an hour before work. It's been more than a week, what with the whole arm thing, so I need to get back into it."

"That was a week ago tonight, wasn't it."

Alex takes a sip of her coffee and looks out of the window. "Yup."

"Hmm," Piper muses, "so a week ago since I ducked out of work and turned up in your driveway."

Alex looks back at her and smiles a little. "Yup."

They're both quiet for a moment, watching each other but alone with their thoughts.

"Does it feel like longer to you?" Piper asks eventually.

Alex pauses, then reaches out and takes hold of Piper's hand across the table. She smiles softly and considers her response. She takes a slow breath before answering.

"Euch, do not do the ga-ga thing in my diner. Is not x-rated place. I have families eat here."

Alex closes her eyes and lets her head drop forward briefly. She laughs quietly and sits up straight, releasing Piper's hand.

"Hey Red. Good to see you," she says, looking up at her with a smile.

Red stands at the end of the table, her arms folded across her bosom, scowling.

"Hey Red, good to see you," she mimics in a childlike voice, tilting her head from side to side. She switches back to her usual voice to continue. "Is more than a week since I last see you, and okay, that's okay. Usually, that's okay. Not great, but okay. You have life, no time for old lady, I know. I get it, is okay."

"Oh hey, Red, wait. It's-"

"But then you are _stupid_ and get yourself _shot_." Red interrupts. "With a gun! A real gun!"

"Well, yeah, but-"

"And _still_! Even then, even when you are shot you don't stop by. You don't call. Not a word. Not a single word to let me know you're okay. You know how I find out? You know how I find out you're not _dead_ in a gutter?"

Piper shrinks back into the corner, barely daring to watch Red's wrath unfurl.

"Umm, I guessing Nicky?" Alex puts forward.

"Nicky! Ha!" Red almost spits. "She is even more useless than you now Lorna is here. Lorna this, Lorna that, Lorna says, Lorna wants. You think I _care_ what Lorna _wants_?"

"Uh, no?" Alex ventures, tentatively.

"No. Is right. No I don't care. But Nicky? She cares. I see her even less than I see you. But no, the way I find out you, _you_ who I have known since you were biting your momma's ankles, are not dead in the gutter, is from _her_!"

Red points a finger in Piper's direction and Alex looks across at her in surprise. Piper has slid down in her seat a little, and seems to be trying to make herself smaller.

"Blondie. She tell me. I don't even know her name, but she is the one who tells me you are okay. This woman. This _stranger_. She is the one. Not you, not your sister, not your partner with the girlfriend. No. Is her."

"Okay, well, her name is-"

Red silences Alex with just a glare, then she leans in closer. "Is not matter. She is good woman," she almost growls at Alex. "Do not fuck this up."

Red straightens, gives Alex a clip around the back of the head for good measure, says "But still no funny business in my diner," then stalks back to the kitchen.

Piper remains shrunk in her seat and watches Red go with her eyes, not daring to move her head or change position until she's certain she's gone and isn't coming back.

"You told her I was okay?" Alex asks, looking over at Piper in surprise.

"You have a _sister_?" Piper replies, equally surprised.

"What? No," Alex says, shaking her head. "She means Nicky. Like I said last night? Be like fucking my sister?"

"Ohhhh," Piper says, realising.

"But, you told Red?"

"I... well, yes. I called in on Saturday morning as I was going to see my parents. I wanted to buy a pie. Have you tried the _Sharlotka_ here, Al? It's incredible. My dad loves it, so I always try to take one when I visit. So I stopped by for a Sharlotka and Red was here and…" Piper trails off and shrugs, then continues quickly "She already knew! About the… the incident, I mean. I didn't tell her that part, she already knew."

"Right," Alex replies softly. "Okay."

"So she was in the kitchen and I was at the counter and she saw me and… well you know what she's like. She's a force isn't she?"

Alex touches the back of her head where she's just been clouted and nods her agreement.

"She looked so worried, Al. She asked if I had seen you, and I told her I'd seen you the day before, and you were okay, and…" Piper pauses, then continues softer, "she just kind of crumpled a little. She grabbed at the counter and crossed herself and had to sit down."

"Fuck, really?"

"Yeah, she just went really quiet. Then she thanked me. She squeezed my hand and said thank you and then wouldn't let me pay for the pie."

"Wow. I should mark that date in the diary," Alex says with a wry smile.

The waitress arrives with their food and places the plates on the table. "Can I get you ladies anything else?"

"No, thank you," Piper replies.

"You sure?" she asks, looking at Alex. "Couple of Tylenol, maybe? Cold compress for your head?" The waitress grins and squeezes Alex's shoulder before leaving. "Enjoy your lunch, ladies."

.

* * *

.

Alex arrives for work thirty minutes before her shift is due to start, and finds Washington already in the locker room.

"Hey," she greets her. "Where've you been?"

"Been?"

"I saw your bike when I got here, but no sign of you."

"Ah yeah, I've been down to the gym. Just taking advantage of the free parking here," Alex smiles, changing into her uniform. It's the truth, just not the whole truth.

"You go okay?"

"Yeah, good. It's been a little more than a week, so it was good to get back into it."

"Your arm doing okay?"

Alex turns side on as she pulls off her t-shirt and shows her arm to her partner.

"Fine, yeah. I have an appointment tomorrow morning to get the sutures taken out, but it seems to be healing well."

Alex pulls her shirt on and begins to button it. Before Washington can speak again, the door to the locker room flies open and they hear the voice of their Sergeant.

"Anyone in here?"

Washington, already changed into her uniform, pops her head around the row of lockers and sees her male sergeant hovering awkwardly in the doorway of the female locker room, his face turned away.

"Everything okay Sarge?"

He looks around. "Is Vause with you?"

"Right here," Alex calls, pulling her belt into place and fastening it.

"Thank Christ," the Sergeant mutters. "Look I know you don't start for another thirty, but we have a situation. Skip briefing, take your car, and head to Fairway Market on 125th."

Alex slams her locker door closed and appears beside her partner.

"What kind of situation?"

"We've got shots fired, multiple casualties, active shooter."

Vause and Washington exchange a glance, they both exclaim "Fuck!" then run at full speed out of the locker room and to their car.

.

* * *

.

It literally takes them two minutes to reach the market, and Alex immediately slews the car into the middle of the junction with West 133rd, closing the road. She shouts over the radio that patrols are needed at West 132nd and at both junctions on Riverside Drive to the rear of the market, and hears acknowledgments from other patrols en route.

They jump out of the vehicle, leaving the doors open, and look towards the market. There are people everywhere, spilling from the front of the store and running in all directions.

"Fuck, are we first on scene?" Alex asks, looking around but seeing no other patrols.

Washington confirms this, then looks across at her partner. "Plan?"

They both study the front of the market, at the people running from the interior, desperate to get out.

"I guess we go in," Alex says, looking back at Washington. They hold each other's gaze for just a moment, then move toward the building, weapons drawn.

They reach the corner and stack, Alex in front, Washington covering her back. Alex peeks her head around the corner and then withdraws again quickly, then repeats the motion.

"I see two casualties," she says, "both just inside the door."

"Status?"

"Can't tell, but there's a hell of a lot of blood."

The stream of people fleeing the store has stopped now, but the surrounding streets are filled with the sounds of approaching sirens, shouting, and the continuous thundering of vehicles passing overhead on the parkway.

Alex peeks her head around the corner again, looking into the market, and sees the hand of one of the casualties move, the fingers curling slowly.

"Fuck," Alex mutters, withdrawing to the safety of the corner of the building again. "We got a live one."

She closes her eyes briefly, then looks up West 133rd and sees two Ambulances approaching, sirens blaring. She looks behind Washington and sees 26-Frank pulling their vehicle into position on Riverside Drive closing the road, then looks again around the corner and into the building and at the two casualties bleeding out onto the floor. Her radio is filled with constant chatter and all she can hear is _noise, _but cutting through it all she hears the calm clear sound of her own voice in her head. _You can do this. Take it slow. Do your job. _

"Where the fuck are ESU?_"_ Washington mutters.

The Emergency Service Unit is the NYPD equivalent of what are commonly known as SWAT teams elsewhere in the country. They like to think of themselves as _elite_, and there's no love lost between them and the rest of the police department.

"Probably comparing their abs in a fucking mirror," Alex replies, and despite the tension of the situation, Washington can't help but grin at this response.

"Looks like it's you and me, kid," Alex says, looking back at her partner.

"We doing this?"

Ordinarily they would maintain a perimeter and wait for ESU. Alex chances another look around the corner and into the building. She retreats again and glances at her partner. "He's bleeding out. I can't just stand here and watch him die."

"I've got you covered," Washington replies, unquestioning. "On your mark."

.

* * *

.

Later, after ESU have arrived and negotiators have been called in and several hours have passed, the building is stormed and the shooter is found deceased in a storeroom in the back of the market, a self inflicted gunshot wound to the head being the obvious cause of death.

Washington and Vause had dropped back to hold the perimeter, two lowly patrol officers with no significant part to play in the drama now the big boys had arrived.

There are ultimately six confirmed dead, including the shooter. Nobody else is found alive inside the building, all having made their own fortunate escape as the incident began to unfold. There's one survivor, a thirty-six year old married father of one by the name of David Marotta, critical but stable in hospital thanks to the early actions of Officers Washington and Vause.

They drive back to the 26th in silence when their shift comes to an end, physically tired and mentally drained. Casual conversation seems like a lot of effort.

They change back into their civvies and walk around to the compound, but as soon as they round the corner they're accosted.

"What the fuck did you do?!"

They both startle and take a step back, but Diaz doesn't let up. "What did you do?" she shouts again, getting into Washington's face.

"Daya," Piper tries, reaching for her arm, but feeling it immediately wrenched from her grasp, "Daya, come on…"

Diaz is right up in Washington's face, hitting her on the upper chest with her open hands as she shouts at her again. "I _saw_ you, you fucking idiot, I _watched_ you. What the fuck were you _doing_?!"

Washington is too taken aback to even respond, she just keeps taking small steps backwards, her hands up in front of her, trying to fend off the blows.

"Woah, woah, Daya!" Alex says, trying to step between them, "What the-?"

Daya immediately switches her attention to Alex, pushing her hard on the shoulder. "And you!" she shouts, "What is it with you? Getting shot at once this week already isn't enough for you? You thought you'd try to get yourself killed again?!"

Alex falters, looking down at Diaz with a sudden dawning realisation. "You were there," she says quietly.

"What did you think you were _doing_?" Diaz yells again, then turns her focus back to Washington. "You could've been _killed_."

"But I wasn't, baby," Washington tries, her voice gentle. "It's all okay, see? We're fine. _I'm_ fine. It's all fine."

"Well I'm _not_ fine!" Diaz yells, furious tears burning her eyes and threatening to overflow.

"Hey lady, can you go be not fine somewhere else?" a disembodied voice calls from a nearby apartment block, "Some of us are trying to sleep here!"

"Fuck you!" Diaz yells, spinning on her heel and shouting in the general direction of the apartment building.

Washington steps up behind her and places her hands on her arms, holding them still at her sides. "Daya," she murmurs close to her ear, "Daya, babe, come on."

She slowly uses her arms to turn her girlfriend until they're facing each other, keeping her close so she can't start raining blows on her again. "It's okay," she repeats, "it's all okay."

She tries to pull away, still raging, but Washington doesn't let her. When Daya's tears come, there doesn't seem to be any stopping them. Washington holds her, right there in the street, and rubs her back, murmuring quiet reassurances into her ear.

Alex stuffs her hands into the pockets of her jacket and looks at the floor, taking a deliberate step away from the two women. Piper scuffs her toe on the pavement, not knowing where to look and feeling terribly out of place.

Alex clears her throat quietly, and Piper looks in her direction. Alex holds her eye for a moment, then slowly moves away to her bike inside the fenced compound. Piper follows, but stops a few feet away.

"How long has she been like that?"

"Since she saw you both this afternoon," Piper replies, keeping her voice quiet. "She managed to keep a lid on it until the shift ended, but…"

Alex looks back over at the two women, still holding each other.

"You should've waited for ESU, Alex," Piper says quietly, looking directly at her.

Alex tenses on hearing Piper's words, a muscle in her jaw flexing. She turns her head back towards Piper and looks at her but doesn't speak, pressing her lips together.

"You could've been killed. Both of you."

Alex fixes her gaze at a distant spot over Piper's shoulder and still doesn't reply.

"It's why she's so mad," Piper continues, keeping her voice quiet. "We watched you both go in there, with no back up, with nothing to protect you."

Alex still doesn't reply.

"You should've waited," Piper repeats.

Alex brings her gaze back to meet Piper's. She holds it for four long seconds, then says "Go home, Chapman."

Her tone is flat and her voice holds no emotion as she delivers those three words. Piper looks taken aback and opens her mouth to reply, but before she can formulate a response Alex turns on her heel and walks away, striding past Diaz and Washington without speaking a word and back to the station house.

.

* * *

.

Alex swipes her way back into the house and makes her way to the front desk. She greets the officer manning the desk and pulls up a chair in the office behind him. She taps some buttons on the console before her and watches as the blank screens on the desk flicker to life.

The images are black and white and not of excellent quality, but she now has a live overview of the parking compound and the streets that border the station. She sees Washington and Diaz, still standing motionless in the street, and then she sees Piper, still in the same place in the compound, having not moved since Alex walked away.

As she watches, Piper pulls her phone from her pocket and a few seconds later, Alex's own phone begins to ring. She chooses not to answer, letting it divert to voicemail. A couple of seconds later it rings again, and again she ignores it.

She watches Piper on the screen as she turns around on the spot, then stops and does something else with her phone. A moment later Alex's phone chimes in her pocket and she pulls it out to check the screen. As expected, there's a message from Piper. Two words.

_For real?_

Alex clicks the side button, darkening the screen, and slips her phone back into her pocket.

She can see Piper, eyes on the screen of her own phone waiting for a reply, then sees the exasperated way her hands move to the top of her head, clutching her hair in her fists, when she realises one isn't coming.

On the adjacent screen she notices movement, and watches as Washington releases the hold she has on her girlfriend. They take a step apart, then Washington's arm moves around Daya's waist and they begin to walk towards the compound slowly.

Piper starts to leave and they approach each other. They exchange a few words, she sees Piper's shoulders shrug and her arm move in the direction of the station house. She watches as Washington looks back at the building over her shoulder, then more words are exchanged. Washington turns toward the house and she takes a half-step away from Diaz before reconsidering.

They talk a little more, then Piper reaches out and squeezes Daya's arm. Daya moves away from her girlfriend and hugs Piper fully, and Alex watches as Washington takes a moment to look back at the building again.

"Go home, Poussey," Alex murmurs to the screen. "Do the right thing."

Piper releases Daya and Washington moves up close again. More conversation, then Piper jerks her thumb over her shoulder and starts to move in that direction. Alex watches as Piper walks away towards 125th St Station and the train that'll take her home.

Washington and Diaz continue into the compound and she watches as the couple climb into their car, Washington giving the station house one last glance before pulling the door closed and starting the engine. Alex watches the car pull out onto the street and she follows the taillights until they move out of range of the camera.

She remains in her seat for ten more minutes watching the monitors, but the only movement comes from two drunken men stumbling their way home. She checks her watch. It's a quarter to one in the morning. Alex lets out a heavy sigh, then logs out of the console and closes down the screens.

.

* * *

.

Alex sleeps fitfully and wakes early. She takes her yoga mat onto the deck and spends half an hour trying to find some calm and balance, but the vinyasas don't flow and her frustration does so she writes it off and retreats to her kitchen.

She checks her phone and sees two more missed calls from Piper, and one from Poussey. She opens her messages and composes a quick text.

_You okay?_

The reply is immediate.

_Yeah. You?_

Alex chooses not to answer the question, but does send another reply.

_How's Daya?_

She watches as the three little dots dance on her screen, and waits for the message to arrive.

_She's okay. Calmer. Still  
__upset, but not angry any  
__more. Or if she is, she's  
__hiding it well. She's okay._

Alex nods and then taps out her reply.

_Good. That's good. Well,  
__if she doesn't want to kill  
__me, tell her I was asking  
__about her, okay? Tell her  
__I love her and I hope she's  
__okay. I'll see you later, P._

Washington doesn't reply, but Alex knows she'll do as she asked.

After a couple of hours of milling around the house, doing some chores and studiously ignoring the two more calls that come from Piper, Alex stuffs her gym wear into her backpack and heads over the bridge and into the city. She stops at the doctor's office and, as planned, has the sutures removed from the wound on her upper arm. She's given a clean bill of health and is on her way again in under ten minutes.

She spends the next hour and a half in the gym, and unusually for her, asks one of the resident personal trainers to work with her for forty-five minutes of that time. She and the PT run through a slew of boxing drills, spending time on heavy bag work, shadow boxing with pads, on the speed bag, and finally back to the heavy bag again. By the time her workout is complete, Alex's body is slick with sweat and her arms are heavy.

"Good work today, Alex," the PT says as Alex removes her hand wraps. "The bag took a real beating."

He's right. Alex took all of her pent up frustration, her anger and doubt and exasperation and unloaded it all onto the heavy bag. As she showers following her workout, she wonders if this is the best way to deal with those emotions, but eventually concludes that it's better than carrying them around and having them slip out when least expected.

She arrives at work twenty minutes before her shift is due to start, and changes into her uniform, ready to start all over again.


	16. Chapter 16

"Good work today, Alex," the PT says as Alex removes her hand wraps. "The bag took a real beating."

He's right. Alex took all of her pent up frustration, her anger and doubt and exasperation and unloaded it all onto the heavy bag. As she showers following her workout, she wonders if this is the best way to deal with those emotions, but eventually concludes that it's better than carrying them around and having them slip out when least expected.

She arrives at work twenty minutes before her shift is due to start, and changes into her uniform, ready to start all over again.

.

* * *

.

"So she's okay?" Alex asks, as she steers the patrol car away from the station house and into the busy New York streets.

"Yeah, she's good now she's calmed down," Washington replies. "I think that, you know, it coming so close on the heels of what happened last week? It just pushed her over the edge."

Alex nods her head and remains quiet.

"Are _you_ okay?" Washington asks. "Don't think I didn't notice that you didn't answer that question earlier."

Alex smiles a little. "Got my sutures out this morning, I'm all good."

"You know that's not what I meant," Washington starts, but before she can continue, they're interrupted by the radio, directing them to what sounds like a bar fight in West Harlem.

"It's three in the afternoon," Alex grumbles. "What the fuck is wrong with people?"

"Friday late shift madness. Here we go," her partner replies, acknowledging the command over the radio and updating the dispatcher that they're en route as Alex turns the car around.

The bar fight seems to have all but petered out by the time they arrive. What they find are two very drunk men, one with a clearly busted nose and one with blood pouring from a cut to his head, seated on the sidewalk outside a dive bar, bickering with each other.

Alex sighs and grabs the small first aid kit from the back of the car, then approaches the two men.

"Well now, what do we have here?" she starts.

"Fuck you, bitch," is the immediate reply.

"Good afternoon to you too, sir," she responds, crouching beside the guy with the bloody head and snapping on her nitrile gloves. "Always a pleasure to be of assistance."

Washington goes to the guy with the busted nose and tries to clean some of the blood away with a gauze pad and a sachet of saline, but with little effect. She passes the pad to the victim, tells him to hold it against his nose, and makes him sit with his head tilted forward.

Vause's customer remains less than thrilled with her presence, despite her attempts to help him. She's struggling to stem the flow of bleeding from his head, and he's continuing to verbally abuse her despite her best intentions.

"How did you do this?" she asks, applying pressure to the gaping wound.

"None of your fucking business," he replies.

"Were you hit with something?" then, turning to the other guy, "Hey, buddy, did you use a weapon or something? What did you hit him with?"

Busted nose guy looks at the floor and wisely chooses not to reply.

Washington nudges some broken glass into the gutter with the toe of her boot, then rolls a broken bottle after it. Alex watches and the two women exchange a knowing look.

"For fuck's sake," Alex mutters. She lifts the gauze pad from her guy's head and looks at the jagged wound. "You hit him with a fucking bottle?" Alex asks nose guy, almost incredulous. "Are you kidding me?"

Nose guy keeps his eyes on the floor, suddenly apparently deaf and mute.

Washington approaches nose guy and silently places his hands into cuffs behind his back as Alex keys her radio. "Dispatch this is 26-Adam, this is gonna be a 10-54 Henry. Can you get them rolling please?"

The dispatcher acknowledges her request for an Ambulance and Alex looks back over at her partner, securing the prisoner with the busted nose. "We also have one male 10-92 felony assault."

"What's your name?" Alex asks, still applying pressure to the head wound before her.

"Fuck. You."

"Interesting choice your parents made there," Alex replies. "Well okay, Mr You, there's an ambulance on its way to see to you, and once they're done with you, we'll take a statement about what happened here today. That sound good to you?"

"I fell and hit my head," he replies. "So you can stick your statement up your shiny ass."

Alex and her partner look at each other and Alex lets out a heavy sigh.

"Okay, and what did you hit your head on, sir?"

"On the _step_, you dumb bitch."

"Right, okay," Alex replies, lifting the gauze pad again and peering at his head wound. "So how did these little shining shards of glass I can see get in there?"

He doesn't reply, so Alex turns her question to the guy currently under arrest. "How about you? You hit your head on the step too? That how you got your busted nose?"

Nose guy continues to look at the floor and doesn't reply.

"Jesus fucking Christ," Alex mutters. "We shoulda just left you to kill each other."

The two cops hear the sound of an approaching siren, and turn in its direction. The truck pulls up behind their patrol car and Alex looks away and closes her eyes briefly when she sees the crew step out of their vehicle. _Of all the ambulances __in all of the city, _she thinks.

Piper and Daya approach and Washington greets them. "I got a busted nose, Al has a head wound that won't stop bleeding. Looks like he's been hit by a bottle."

"I fell and hit my head!" Alex's guy yells, still trying to protect his friend.

"He fell and hit his head," Washington corrects herself, "seemingly hitting it on a bottle that this guy was holding at the time."

Daya crouches in front of the quiet guy with the busted nose and makes him raise his head. It's a straightforward enough injury and one she can deal with.

"I got this," she says to her partner, and Piper moves along to the next stoop where Alex is waiting, looking off down the street.

"Alex." Piper says by way of greeting as she places her bag on the floor, her voice soft.

"Chapman," Alex replies, her jaw tightening, not making eye contact.

"Okay sir, I'm going to take a look at this nasty head wound you have, is that okay?"

"Fuck you."

"Can you stand and make your way to the Ambulance? We can help you."

Alex reaches down and places a hand under his arm to help him up, but he wrenches away from her hold. "Get your filthy fucking hands off me, pig," he spits.

Piper can't keep the surprise from her face, but Alex just closes her eyes and takes a steadying breath, her patience beginning to fray at the edges. "Sir, we're just trying to help you. I've had my filthy pig hands on you for the past five minutes, trying to stop this blood from pouring outta your head. The sooner you do what the lady says and get yourself onto her Ambulance, the sooner I can leave you be."

"Just do it, Jerry," the guy with the busted nose pipes up. "You're still bleeding, man."

"Sir, listen to your friend, please. We just want to help you."

After another couple of seconds where he seems to consider his options, he leans forward and struggles to his feet. Alex places an arm under his elbow to steady him as he stumbles, and he again pulls away with a torrent of abuse spewing from his lips.

The three of them start to move toward the Ambulance, but before they reach the rear doors he stumbles again. This time Piper moves to steady him and as he tries to pull away, he overbalances and stumbles into her, knocking her sideways.

"Fucking stupid bitch," he yells, "get the fuck outta my way!"

Piper is startled but unharmed, nevertheless Alex's reaction is swift. Before he knows what's happening, Alex has spun the guy around and has him pinned up against the Ambulance, his back flat against the vehicle, her forearm across his upper chest pinning him there.

She leans in close enough that she can smell the alcohol on his breath and speaks to him in a dangerously low tone.

"You fucking listen to me, _Jerry_. You can verbally abuse me all day long and I won't bat an eyelid. But you do _not_ speak to her like that. She has come out here to help you, and this is the way you show your gratitude? She is a _paramedic_, all she wants to do is help you. Speak to me however the fuck you like, but if I hear you utter one single more word to her without a respectful tone in your voice, if you _touch_ her one more time, I promise you you'll regret it."

Jerry, even through his inebriated state, receives this message loud and clear. The look on his face makes that obvious.

"Are we clear?" Alex asks, still up in his face.

Jerry nods his head and Alex takes a step away.

"Apologise to the lady and get on the fucking truck," she says, dismissing him and taking another step back.

"I'm sorry ma'am," he says to Piper, sounding genuinely contrite. "Sorry."

"Come and let me take a look at your head," she says, taking him by the elbow and guiding him onto the back of the Ambulance, glancing at Alex who still doesn't meet her eye.

Alex follows them both and stands just outside the vehicle, ready to follow through on her promise if necessary.

.

* * *

.

Twenty minutes later, they're getting ready to leave. Neither party wants to make a complaint and there's no way of proving what actually happened, so busted nose guy is de-arrested and allowed on his way home. The delightful Jerry is getting a ride to the hospital to have some glass shards removed from his skull, and has expressed nothing but effusive thanks for the care being shown to him by Paramedic Chapman since arriving on the ambulance.

Alex watches from the patrol car as Diaz slams the doors of the ambulance closed. She exchanges a few words with Washington, then walks over to the car and leans down to speak to Alex through the window.

Instead of speaking she simply places her hand against Alex's cheek, then gives her a small smile.

Alex returns the smile then turns her head and touches her lips to her hand. Daya brushes her thumb against Alex's cheekbone, then retreats and clambers into the Ambulance before driving away.

Washington watches, then slides into the cruiser as the ambulance retreats.

"Well that was a laugh a minute."

Alex starts the ignition. "He was an absolute treat, ol' Jerry."

"You sure you're okay?" Washington asks, turning to look at her partner. "That thing with him and Chapman and… you. I thought you were gonna punch him square in the face."

"When have you ever seen me do that to _any_one?" Alex asks, looking back at her.

"Well, never. I just-"

"Right, never," Alex interjects, "and I'm not about to start now. But he was outta line, and he needed to know it."

Washington holds her tongue. It's clear to her that Alex is still angry, and she knows better than to poke the bear.

.

* * *

.

They finish their shift on time and Alex arrives home thirty minutes after midnight. She heats up some leftovers and sits alone at the kitchen table picking at them, not really hungry but knowing she should eat.

It's a quarter to one when her phone begins to ring on the table beside her and she doesn't need to look at the caller ID to know who it is. She considers ignoring it again and letting it switch to voicemail even though no messages have been left so far, but something makes her pick up the phone.

"Hi," she says, sounding tired.

"Alex, hi," Piper says, a mixture of surprise and relief in her voice. Alex remains silent. "I didn't think you'd answer," Piper admits.

"So why call?" Alex responds brusquely.

Piper hesitates, noting Alex's tone of voice. "I... I hoped you might."

"Right. So. What's up?"

There's a pause before Piper speaks again as she considers whether to bother. She keeps her voice soft when she speaks. "I just wanted to say thank you, for earlier, with that guy."

Alex keeps quiet and pushes her plate away, any trace of an appetite now gone.

"I mean, for stepping in and, and for what you said. For standing up for me and, well, for protecting me."

"Oh right. So you're happy I did my job correctly tonight then are you?" Alex bites. "Unlike last night when apparently I didn't have a fucking clue what I was doing."

"Alex," Piper starts, "I didn't mean-"

"Forget it Chapman. I gotta go."

Alex terminates the call and tosses her phone onto the table. She scrapes her leftovers into the trash, drops her plate into the sink, throws a filthy look at her phone and leaves it where it lies before heading up the stairs to bed.

.

* * *

.

"So Daya's back on the whole we-should-have-a-baby kick," Washington says, resting her head back against the seat in the car. "I thought we'd moved on from it, but no such luck."

Alex doesn't respond, she just sips her coffee and continues looking out of the window.

It's almost five-thirty in the morning and they're taking five in St Nicholas Park.

"Apparently when Chapman went to see her folks at the weekend, it was because her brother had just had a baby. She's been telling Daya about kissing the tiny toes and the cute baby smell and now she's back on track."

"Baby smell." Alex muses. "Isn't that shit and milky vomit?"

Washington looks across at her, grinning, but the smile falls from her face when she realises that Alex's expression hasn't changed, and actually, she's dead serious. She looks at her for a few moments, then asks "The fuck is going on, Vause?" with a note of genuine concern.

"On?" Alex asks, turning her head toward her.

"You're not yourself. Something's going on."

Alex shrugs and goes back to looking out at nothing through the window.

"How're things with you and your new girl?" Washington asks, thinking she's steering the conversation onto cheerier ground.

Alex huffs and shakes her head before drinking more of her coffee.

"Aw man, you gotta be kidding me. What's going on?"

"I need a smoke, that's what's going on," Alex replies, kicking the door open and stepping out of the cruiser.

Washington lets her go and keeps an eye on her through the rearview mirror, watching as her partner leans against the back of the vehicle and lights a cigarette.

She pulls her phone from her pocket and sends a quick text.

_Alex is smoking._

Daya's reply is instant.

_WHAT?! _

Immediately followed up with another.

_What's going on? Why is  
__she smoking? What's the  
__matter? Have you ASKED  
__her? Where are you? We'll  
__come over._

Washington glances into the mirror and taps out another text.

_JFC, D! I'm trying here,  
__okay? Just gimme a damn  
__minute._

She hits send and before she can even put her phone away, another message arrives.

_WHERE. ARE. YOU._

Washington chooses to ignore it and slips the phone into the centre console before opening her own door and joining her partner around the back of the patrol car. She leans against the fender and pushes her hands into the top of her stab vest and looks off into the distance.

"Nice night," she says.

Alex doesn't reply.

"Sun'll be up soon."

Alex drops her cigarette butt to the floor and grinds it out with the heel of her shoe. She coughs once, then pulls another cigarette out of her packet and lights it. She inhales deeply, taking a long drag and holding the smoke in her lungs for a couple of seconds before tilting her head back and blowing it out of her mouth in one long stream.

"That shit'll kill you, Vause, and you know that better than most."

Alex has very personal knowledge of just what harm smoking can cause, and she doesn't appreciate the reminder.

"Don't," she says, a warning tone in her voice despite its low volume.

"You have a death wish?" Washington asks, pushing it just a little bit more.

Alex blows out another lungful of smoke and laughs mirthlessly as she does. "Do I have a death wish. Now isn't that just the question of the hour. I don't know, P, you tell me. Do I have a death wish?"

Washington frowns but doesn't reply. Inside the vehicle, her phone chimes with incoming text messages, but she chooses to ignore them. She looks across at Alex but remains silent.

Alex takes another drag of her cigarette and releases the smoke before turning her head to look at her partner. "Well?" she asks. "Do I? It wasn't fucking rhetorical."

Washington glances through the back window of the cruiser when she hears her phone start to ring. Alex hears it too but doesn't comment. It rings out and stops, then it starts again.

"For fucking fuck's…" Washington mutters and hurries around the vehicle. She snatches her phone from the console, answers it with a firm '_not now'_, then terminates the call and switches the phone to silent. She tosses it back into the car as she withdraws to join her partner again.

They stand in silence for a few seconds, Alex smoking, Washington looking off into the middle distance.

"So do I?" Alex asks again, her voice softer now and without the previous challenge in her tone.

"I don't think so," Washington replies honestly. "No."

Alex nods her head once in acknowledgement, but doesn't speak.

"What's this about? What's going on, Alex?"

Alex frowns and unzips the pocket of her vest and pulls out her phone. She looks at it then holds it out to show the screen to Washington and frowns more. "Why's Daya calling me?"

Washington's eyes widen and she snatches the phone from Alex, muttering "Give me that."

She takes the call as Alex looks on, answering with the words "What part of 'not now' was unclear to you?"

Alex raises an eyebrow and can hear frantic babbling from the handset, but no distinguishable words. Eventually her partner speaks again, clearly struggling to retain her cool. "Yes, I understand that, and I am aware of that already, thank you. But I asked you to give me a minute, so do me a favour okay? And give me a goddamn fucking minute."

Washington cuts the call and passes the handset back to Alex. She places it on the trunk and lights a third cigarette from the end of the second.

"What's happening?" Alex asks, inclining her head in the direction of her phone.

"Yeah, that's that point. What the fuck _is_ happening, Al?"

"Daya was pretty mad last night, huh?" Alex says, taking another long drag of her cigarette. "What with the hitting you and the screaming and all."

"She was upset," Washington replies, "but I don't know what that has to do wi-"

"Yeah she was upset. She was upset with you, and she was upset with me, and both she and her partner seem to think that I have a death wish and made the wrong call. She was pissed with you for going into that market, and she was pissed with me for leading you there. So what's your take on it? You think I was reckless too?"

"Alex," Washington starts, keeping her voice calm, "you know I'll always have your back."

"That wasn't what I asked," Alex snaps back. "You think I was reckless? You think we shoulda waited for ESU?"

Washington breathes out slowly. "They don't do what we do, Al, they don't-" she stops, looking at Alex's phone as the screen lights up and it starts to vibrate on the trunk of the car.

Alex turns her head and looks at it, seeing Piper's name flashing on the screen.

"Jesus fucking Christ!" Alex exclaims angrily, snatching the phone up and rejecting the call. She turns her head towards her partner and in the same angry tone says "He'd be fucking _dead! _Right now, he'd by lying in a cooler in a morgue if it wasn't for us. If we'd have waited, there'd be a wife who's now a widow and a kid who'd have to grow up without a dad. That was the fucking alternative. What choice did we have? Let him bleed out until the jocks with their fucking high and tights and their military grade kit eventually roll up? He'd be _dead_."

"I know," Washington replies, her voice soft and quiet in complete contrast to Alex's own.

"It wasn't some gung-ho death-or-glory move. It was justified, it was _right, _we saved his fucking_ life_!"

"I know," Washington repeats softly. "I know, Alex."

Alex pulls deeply on her cigarette, then flicks the butt away. Her phone starts to vibrate on the trunk again and she looks at it, at the name lighting up the screen, then looks away and sighs deeply.

Washington reaches for the phone and answers it. "Chapman, this is P. It's not a good time."

She listens for a moment, then looks at Alex, and listens some more. "Yeah, yeah okay. I'll tell her. Yep. Uh huh. Yeah, okay. You too, Chapman."

Washington hangs up the phone and places it back on the trunk. She looks back at Alex and watches as she takes her cigarette packet out again and starts to withdraw another smoke.

"Please don't do that, Alex," she says gently. "C'mon girl. That's enough," she reaches her hand out towards Alex who looks at her partner's hand then reluctantly slaps the pack into it with a huff.

"Thank you," Washington murmurs, and pushes the pack into her own pocket.

The two women remain leaning on their vehicle in silence, until their radios crackle to life.

"Dispatch to 26-Adam. What's your 10-7?"

Washington takes the call. "Dispatch this is Adam. We're 10-63 at St Nicholas and West 135th."

"10-4."

"Now they know where we are, there'll be a job any minute." Alex says.

"I told them we were 10-63."

"Since when did they respect meal breaks?"

Washington sighs quietly.

"So look," Washington says after a moment. "Chapman asked me to tell you she's sorry."

Alex doesn't respond.

"She also said, well actually she said exactly what I was about to before you cut me off. She said she doesn't do your job, she doesn't have to make those calls."

"Right."

"Right. She said her job, and Daya's job, is to save lives."

Alex lets out a huff of air through her nose and stuffs her hands into her stab vest.

"Then she said that that's exactly what we did, and that she's sorry. Again. And then she said something about needing some restraint and her mouth running away and someone should just gag her or something, I don't know, she was rambling. Something like that."

Despite herself, Alex can't help a small smile at that.

"She's right, you know?" Washington continues. "That was what I was gonna say. They don't do what we do, they don't have to make the calls we do. They don't kick in doors with no idea what's waiting behind, they call us to do that for them. They don't go to shouts where there's someone with a weapon, they wait around the corner until we've dealt with the threat. They don't have to make the judgement calls we do, they don't have to manage risk like we do, they don't get it."

Alex nods her head and bites the inside of her lip.

"They don't _see_ it though, that's the thing. They have some idea of what we do, but they don't have the whole picture. I don't go home after my shift and say '_hey babe, you'll never guess what happened, some dude came at me with a knife today and I nearly got stabbed, __look at the rip in my shirt!_' I don't tell her about the near misses, and the close calls, and I sure as shit wouldn't have told her we were first on scene at a mass shooting and had to enter the building without any backup to save some guy's life."

Alex looks down and scrapes the toe of her boot in the dirt, but remains quiet.

"And you know what our reaction was when Sarge told us to get to that market. We both reacted the exact same way and we hightailed it there with no clue what we were gonna walk into. The adrenaline was pumping and nerves were jangling and we flew around there not knowing what was waiting for us." She pauses, then adds "You think Daya's reaction was any different when they took their call?"

Alex keeps her head down, but turns it to the side to looks across at her partner as she speaks.

"They got the same call we did. Mass shooting, multiple casualties, active shooter. They fly down there as fast as their truck will take them and they pull up on West 133rd and look through the windshield and what does Daya see?"

"Yeah," Alex breathes, understanding starting to dawn. She looks back at the floor as Washington continues.

"She sees the person she loves, the person she chooses to spend her life with, the person she cares about more than almost anyone else, drawing a weapon and rounding that corner and running straight into the face of danger."

Alex nods.

"And then see sees me following right behind," Washington adds, and a short bark of a laugh escapes Alex in response as she whips her head up to look at her partner.

"Ding ding ding! I win, I got a laugh outta Alex Vause!" Washington grins, turning on the spot with her arms wide, announcing her victory to the nonexistent crowd.

Alex smiles at her partner and looks away again, taking a moment to consider her words.

After a few seconds of silence, Washington speaks again, her tone sober once more. "David Marotta is alive today because of what _we_ did, Alex." She pauses then adds, "It was the _right_ call."

.

* * *

.

Alex wakes at one in the afternoon after four and a half hours of sleep. It's not enough, but it's all she's going to get. She has one more night shift ahead of her, then four days off and they can't come soon enough.

She sits on the deck with coffee and toast, easing herself into the day with Vincent for company. He's curled up asleep in the adjacent chair, his usual indifferent self. Alex looks at him and thinks of the last time she saw him in that chair, when he was curled in Piper's lap, and she looks away again frowning.

She picks up her phone and opens her contacts and scrolls to the familiar number before tapping the screen and dialling.

"Yo Stretch," Nicky answers, "what's cookin'?"

"Hey Nic. You got five?"

"For you, my giant friend, I may even have ten."

"You know I'm only five eight, right? And you're just a midget?"

"Good things come in small packages, Stretch, you should remember that."

"So does poison," Alex replies.

"Well aren't you just a bundle of joy this beautiful Sunday?"

Alex hums quietly into the phone.

"So what's up? You doing okay? How're things with Blondie? Red told me you were in there for breakfast Thursday, holding hands across the table, making eyes at each other, making her queasy."

"It really wasn't like that," Alex protests. "And anyway," she pauses frowning as she thinks about it, "I haven't seen her since then. Well, aside from at work anyway."

"Oh?" Nicky's voice is hesitant, "And why's that?"

Alex sighs quietly.

"Oh no," Nicky starts, "no no no, Vause. I specifically told you not to fuck this up. I remember my exact words."

"Look, it's just…"

"Nothing! 'It's just' nothing! I specifically told you not to fuck this up. Twice I told you that she's a keeper and to lock this shit down. Not to let her get away. What have you gone and done?!"

"Why is it automatically _me_ that must've done something? Why can't it be her who's fucked it up?" Alex protests defensively.

"Is it?"

"Well, no, but-"

"See!"

"Well she started it!"

"Oh my fucking God you're twelve years old."

Alex doesn't reply. Nicky sits back in her chair and pinches the bridge of her nose. She switches her phone into her other hand and forces a calm tone into her voice.

"Tell me," says. "Tell me what happened."

So Alex does. She tells her about the job, about David Marotta, about the decision she made and the actions she and Washington took. She tells her about Daya, and her railing at them both, and she tells her about Piper, and her reaction to Piper's assertion that she made the wrong call. She tells her how she reacted to that, how she's avoided her calls and messages since, how angry she's been, and eventually she tells her about the apology that came her way via Washington in the early hours of that morning.

Nicky remains quiet throughout. She offers no comment, she just listens to the whole tale. When Alex is done, Nicky finally speaks.

"It was the right call."

"I know," Alex replies softly.

"And Piper knows that too. She's had time to think about it, and reflect on it, and she's finally come to the same conclusion that you did in a couple of seconds."

"Mmhmm."

"She was like Diaz," Nicky continues "only on a smaller scale. They rocked up there and Diaz saw what's effectively her wife running into danger, putting her life on the line. That's why she lost her shit."

"I know," Alex admits.

"But Blondie, she's a little different. She sees the same thing, but to a lesser extreme. She sees someone she cares about doing that – maybe not her wife, but someone she has feelings for – rushing into danger and it scares her too."

"Yeah."

"So her reaction is less extreme, too. She calmly tells you the same thing Diaz did rather than screaming it, but she's coming from the same place. In Piper's case though, she's got this whole other thing to think about. Diaz is already committed. She's in too deep. Piper though, internally she's thinking, yeah she's hot and the sex is great even though the whole kitchen table thing is weird, but holy shit, look at her. Look at the danger she faces. Look at the risky situations she has to deal with. Look how close she's coming to death."

Nicky pauses so the impact of her next sentence is clear. She speaks a little softer and slower.

"Look how close I'm coming to losing her. I barely know her, this is all so new, do I want to take this chance? Do I want to start a relationship with someone who faces such risk? Do I want to get involved with someone who I might lose? Do I want to risk the potential heartbreak that comes hand in hand with a relationship with this person?"

Alex remains quiet, her mouth dry.

"Do you see, Al?" Nicky asks gently.

"Yeah," Alex replies hoarsely. "I do."

"And this morning, when she sent that apology, what she was saying was yes. Yes I do want that. Yes it is worth that risk. You are worth that risk. _You _are worth it."

Alex nods her head even though Nicky can't see her.

"So what're you gonna do? Are you gonna accept that apology and start moving forward again, or are you gonna be a stubborn miserable ass? Because let's be honest, you are so fucking desperately sad without her after just three days that you've actually resorted to calling _me_ for advice."

"Right?" Alex replies with a slight smile. "We're clear into uncharted waters here."

"So what're you gonna do?"

"The right thing," Alex replies after a moment. "I'm going to do the right thing."

"Yes you are." Nicky replies. "Now, should I send you my bill via email or USPS?"

.

* * *

.

Alex checks a few websites before leaving for work, makes a couple of phone calls, and makes two stops before she finally heads into work for her last night shift.

Piper arrives for her shift feeling deflated. She's tired and she's upset that she hasn't heard from Alex. She had hoped that following her apology that morning, Alex might have reached out to her. She's deliberately avoided initiating contact herself today, but she's heard nothing.

She's leaning back against her locker with her eyes closed waiting for her shift to start when Diaz arrives.

"Hey partner," Diaz says, "parcel for you."

Piper looks up just as Diaz tosses a thick padded envelope in her direction. "What? What's this?" she asks, turning the package over in her hands.

The envelope is unmarked, other than the words "Paramedic Piper Chapman" being neatly printed in block letters.

"Dunno," Daya replies. "Smithy gave it to me as I was coming in. Said it was hand delivered earlier tonight."

Piper studies the envelope, then tears open the top. She looks inside, but whatever's in there is bulky and tightly wedged. She turns the envelope upside down and shakes it, but the contents remain firmly stuck.

Daya watches from the locker opposite as she changes into her uniform. Piper struggles a few moments longer, before frustration gets the better of her and she rips down the side of the envelope. As the structure gives with a sudden tear, the contents spring out of the envelope and Piper watches with a surprise that quickly turns to mounting horror, as it bounces once and then rolls in a perfect line to land at her partner's feet.

A brand new roll of two-inch wide bright red and shiny bondage tape.


	17. Chapter 17

**AN: When this chapter passed 9000 words, I realised I should probably split it! So here's almost 6k, but they're still not quite done.**  
**Thanks for your continued interest in this story. Hope everyone is keeping safe and well. x**

* * *

The envelope is unmarked, other than the words "Paramedic Piper Chapman" being neatly printed in block letters.

"Dunno," Daya replies. "Smithy gave it to me as I was coming in. Said it was hand delivered earlier tonight."

Piper studies the envelope, then tears open the top. She looks inside, but whatever's in there is bulky and tightly wedged. She turns the envelope upside down and shakes it, but the contents remain firmly stuck.

Daya watches from the locker opposite as she changes into her uniform. Piper struggles a few moments longer, before frustration gets the better of her and she rips down the side of the envelope. As the structure gives with a sudden tear, the contents spring out of the envelope and Piper watches with a surprise that quickly turns to mounting horror, as it bounces once and then rolls in a perfect line to land at her partner's feet.

A brand new roll of two-inch wide bright red and shiny bondage tape.

.

* * *

.

Alex is guiding the car through the dark and quiet streets of Harlem when her partner starts chuckling beside her. She looks across and watches as Washington's fingers fly across the screen of her phone, typing out a message.

"What's so funny?" she asks as her partner's shoulders shake with laughter.

"Oh you're gonna love this," Washington replies, pausing to compose and send another message. "This is even better than your hickey."

Alex moves her hand to her neck and rubs a couple of fingers over the now fading bruise. Washington laughs again as she reads another text message, then half-turns toward Alex.

"You remember what I said about Chapman having some kind of love interest? Someone in her phone called '_Hot Cop_'?"

Alex keeps her eyes on the road, but her hands tighten ever so slightly on the steering wheel. "Yeah, I think so," she replies. "Didn't I warn you to back off on that?"

"You did, and I did, and Daya did too, but tonight…" she pauses and laughs again quietly, "dude, there's no way we can let this lie."

Alex glances across at Washington and raises a questioning eyebrow.

"So when Daya got to work tonight, Smithy from the Desk handed her a package. Said it was dropped off earlier for Chapman."

A heavy weight sinks and lodges itself in the pit of Alex's stomach.

"Uh huh," she replies, not wanting to know what happened next, but instinctively having some idea where this story is going.

"So she gives it to Chapman in the locker room, and she goes to open it, but she can't, right? Whatever's in there is wedged in, and she's struggling to get it open."

"Okay."

"So Daya's there getting changed into her gear and Chapman's wrestling with this package, and then she gets frustrated with it and tears it open and whatever's in there flies right out and hits the deck."

Alex thinks _oh fuck no, _but manages to get her throat to work and says "Okay?" feigning interest.

"And it _rolls_," Washington says, pausing for effect. "It rolls across the locker room floor and lands at Daya's feet, and she bends to pick it up and then jumps back like she's been burned."

Internally, Alex is cringing. She has to force herself to look across as her partner. "And?" she asks, not wanting to ask but knowing she has to. "What was it?"

"Bondage tape!" Washington replies, laughing fully. "It was a brand new roll of fucking bondage tape!"

Alex glances back at her partner. "Nooooo," she says, hoping she sounds suitably surprised.

"It was! Look!"

Alex looks across as Washington holds up her phone, a photo of the offending item looming large on the screen.

"Wow," Alex says, not really knowing how else to respond. "That's… wow."

Washington is still laughing, Alex is dying inside. _She's going to totally kill me_, she thinks. Then a second thought occurs to her.

"So who dropped it off?" she asks, trying not to sound as anxious about the answer as she feels.

"No clue," Washington replies, and a wave of relief washes over Alex. "Daya went and asked Smithy, but apparently it was left on the desk when he went to grab a drink."

"Well shit," Alex replies, "that's… unfortunate."

Lucky. Lucky is the word she really wants to use. She'd waited for fifteen minutes for that guy to move away from the front desk earlier in the evening, before darting into the building and leaving the envelope then beating a hasty retreat as she heard him returning.

"Right? So now, Daya might've cut her some slack about this mysterious _Hot Cop_ before, but the floodgates are well and truly open now. Fucking bondage tape!" she exclaims.

Alex shakes her head. "Wow," she repeats, knowing this is the third time she's said it but not knowing what else she could possibly say.

They're quiet for a few minutes, Washington focused on the continued exchange of messages with her girlfriend.

"Head on over to Dunkin on MLK," Washington says eventually. "I could do with a bathroom break."

"Sure," Alex replies, taking the next left and heading in that direction.

"And Daya and Chapman will be there in five," Washington adds with a grin.

Alex says nothing, but silently prays for a call on the radio diverting them to a job. Any job. Any job at all.

It doesn't come.

.

* * *

.

They see the Ambulance parked at the kerb as they approach. Alex pulls their cruiser to a halt behind it and kills the engine.

Washington pushes open her door then pauses, looking back into the vehicle. "You coming in?"

Alex slips her phone from her pocket and unlocks it. "Nah," she replies. "I gotta…" she holds her hand up showing her phone to her partner but doesn't finish her sentence.

"Back in five," Washington replies, and slams the door closed.

As soon as she's gone, Alex opens her messages and types one for Piper.

_You have to believe that  
__I thought you'd be alone  
__when you opened it. I'm  
__so sorry._

She hits send, then sits in the car watching the storefront, wondering what's going on inside but too chickenshit to venture in herself. Her phone vibrates in her hand and she switches her attention back to her screen.

It's Piper.

_I think we need to talk._

Alex squeezes her eyes closed and takes a slow deep breath._ Fuck. Fuck fuck fuck. _She takes a moment then taps out a reply. Before she's able to send it though, a second message arrives.

_Or not. Maybe no  
__talking, as we now  
__have something to  
__help with that._

Alex reads the message on her screen twice, a slow smile beginning to spread. She deletes the message she'd composed, and is partway through writing another when the door to Dunkin opens and her partner and the two ambulance crew exit onto the street.

Diaz raises her hand in greeting and Alex leaves the vehicle, walking over to join them on the sidewalk.

Washington passes her a coffee and Alex takes it, greeting the other two women with a nod of the head.

"You okay, Al?" Diaz asks as she watches Alex slide her phone back into the pocket of her vest.

"Yeah, I'm okay. You okay?"

Daya gestures towards the disappearing phone with her head. It's four in the morning, something must be amiss if Alex is communicating with someone at this godforsaken hour.

"'s going on?"

Alex takes a sip of her coffee. "Nothing," she murmurs.

"Woman trouble?" Piper asks boldly. "I'll bet it's woman trouble."

Alex raises an eyebrow and looks at Piper. "Wow, really?" she starts. "Are we going there, Chapman?"

Before Piper can reply, Alex continues, "I'd have thought the last thing you of all people wanted to talk about was relationship stuff, given the package I hear you received tonight."

Daya laughs and Piper smiles, holding her hands up. "Believe me, there's nothing you can say to embarrass me about that package that these two haven't already said."

"Yeah Alex," Washington grins. "Show a little _restraint_."

They all laugh, and Piper moves to lean against the front of the police vehicle.

"So who's the mystery gift-giver?" Alex asks, watching Piper carefully.

Piper takes a sip of her coffee and maintains eye contact with Alex as she does. She shrugs one shoulder and doesn't reply.

"Why the secrecy?" Alex asks, and Piper takes a deep breath, looking past Alex as she lets it out slowly.

"I'll be honest, okay? I don't think… the person… would like me to share that name."

Alex frowns slightly and Washington picks up the line of questioning. "Wait. Do we know 'em?"

Piper looks at her and doesn't reply.

"Well shit," Washington says. "From where? Which precinct?"

Piper shakes her head and chooses silence as a reply again.

"Why wouldn't they want us to know?" Daya asks, her voice a mixture of curiosity and concern. "I don't understand."

Piper looks up at her and shrugs again. "It's just relatively new I guess, and… I don't know. Maybe we're on different pages."

"What do you mean? Different pages?"

Piper holds Daya's gaze as she replies, careful not to even glance at Alex. "I mean, maybe we want different things. Maybe we're looking for something different."

"As in…?" It's Alex now seeking the clarification and Piper looks directly at her.

"Sex or a relationship," Piper says honestly. "I know what I want, I know what _I'm_ doing, but maybe they're not clear. Or undecided. Or maybe we just want completely different things."

Alex holds Piper's gaze and nods slowly. "Then maybe that's something you should discuss," Alex says.

"You're probably right," Piper agrees. "But we're not exactly speaking at all at the moment. I may have…" Piper pauses and considers her words carefully, "I may have said something in the moment that I've come to regret, and whilst I hope that we can put that behind us, I'm honestly not certain right now."

"Fuck, you said '_I love you_' when you were coming, didn't you," Washington chips in, grinning.

"No," Piper smiles a little. "It was even worse, if you can imagine that."

"Communication is important," Daya says, silencing Washington with a glance, then looking back at Piper. "You should definitely have that talk."

"I know," Piper replies quietly.

"Or, y'know, just fuck it out." Washington offers.

"Poussey!" Alex exclaims at the same moment Daya says "What the fuck?!"

Washington holds her arms out and looks at them both in turn. "What?" she asks, "What? Come on, this conversation took a really heavy turn all of a sudden. It's too goddamn late for this shit!"

"Jesus." Alex mutters under her breath, then looks away.

"And we know they have the fucking thing down, right? I mean, with the tape and all."

"You're such an ass," Daya comments, shaking her head.

"What? You know I'm right! Four years we've been together and not once have we gone anywhere near that kinda tape!"

"Oh my God," Alex mutters, tossing her empty coffee cup into the trash and covering her ears. "I don't need to hear this. I really don't need to hear this."

Piper smiles as she watches all three of her friends and their reactions.

"She's right though," she admits, grinning and looking from Daya to Alex. "We do have the fucking thing down."

"La-la-la, I can't hear you," Alex replies, keeping her hands firmly over her ears as she moves back around to the door of the cruiser.

Piper smiles and watches as she slides back into the vehicle. Washington and Diaz continue their back-and-forth as Washington too heads back to the car.

Piper pushes herself up and starts to move back to the truck, pulling her phone from her pocket as it vibrates against her thigh and reads the message on the screen.

_I know exactly what __page  
__I'm on__. Please come over  
__after work. We really do  
__need to talk. x_

Piper looks back at the patrol car before climbing into the Ambulance, making eye contact with Alex through the windshield. Alex offers her a small smile, and Piper reciprocates with an almost imperceptible nod of the head.

.

* * *

.

It's approaching nine in the morning. Alex is tired and desperate for her bed, but she knows that's going to have to wait the moment she sees Piper's small hatchback parked in her driveway as she swings her bike in after work. She dismounts and locks the bike up, then removes her helmet and looks around.

Piper is seated on one of the chairs on the deck, Vincent curled in her lap. Both of them are sleeping.

Alex approaches, taking her time as she climbs the few steps up onto the deck. She stands for a few seconds, looking at them both, then unlocks the door and props it open with her motorcycle helmet before returning to crouch beside Piper.

"Piper," she says softly, placing her hand on her forearm and shaking gently. "Piper. Hey."

Piper blinks her eyes open and immediately smiles on seeing Alex. Alex watches, and she can't help feeling saddened when that gentle smile dissipates as true consciousness comes to Piper, bringing with it the memory of the last few days. She leans away slightly and straightens in the chair, then rubs both of her hands over her face.

"I'm glad you came," Alex says, and she means it. She's dead tired, but sleep is not her priority right now. She keeps her voice deliberately soft. "Come inside. Please."

Piper looks at her and nods, then carefully lifts the cat from her lap and gets to her feet, placing him back on the seat as she stands. She moves towards the door as Alex scoops up her helmet and holds it open, gesturing for Piper to enter, which she does, her shoulder brushing lightly against Alex's chest as she passes.

Alex takes her helmet through to the hallway and shrugs out of her jacket, leaving it on one of the coat-hooks in the hallway before returning to the kitchen. Piper has removed her own coat, which Alex takes as a positive sign, and placed it over the back of one of the kitchen chairs. Her hands are on the back of the chair and she's looking out of the window at the yard beyond.

"I'm really tired," Piper murmurs, sensing Alex's presence behind her in the room.

Alex approaches slowly, stopping immediately behind her and hesitating for just a moment before placing her hands gently on Piper's waist.

"Me too," she admits.

They stand still for a couple of seconds, then Piper turns and looks directly at Alex, so close she could kiss her, and for a moment she almost does, but she finds some self-restraint and instead pulls her gaze from Alex's lips up to her eyes briefly, then looks down.

"There's so much I want to say to you, so many things we need to talk about, but…" she pauses, and looks up and into Alex's eyes, "Can we not? I mean, not right now? Can we do that later, when I'm not so tired that I don't trust myself or my words and when I'm not so tired that I'll inevitably say the wrong thing. Can we just… can we just…" she trails off and looks down again, frowning.

"Be." Alex says softly, finishing Piper's sentence. "Can we just _be_."

Piper closes her eyes, momentarily overwhelmed with the realisation of Alex's understanding. "Yes," she breathes, agreeing with Alex's statement.

"Yes," Alex echoes, whispering the word on a quiet breath of air, before taking Piper's hand and leading her up the stairs and to bed.

.

* * *

.

Piper wakes a few minutes after one. She's lying on her side, the reassuring and already familiar weight of Alex's arm lying over her waist. She sniffs quietly, then eases herself slowly onto her back. She opens her eyes and turns her head towards Alex, only to find her already awake and looking right back at her.

"Hey," Piper says, her voice hoarse and still creaking with sleep.

"Hey," Alex replies quietly, a soft smile on her face.

Piper stretches, then rubs her eye with her fist. "Timezit?" she mumbles.

"One," Alex replies. "A little after."

Piper allows her eyes to close again and breathes out slowly.

Alex keeps her voice quiet. "I'm gonna get up, Pipes, or I won't sleep tonight. I think my alarm disturbed you, I'm sorry. What time do you want me to wake you?"

Piper groans quietly and scrunches her face up. As much as she would love to sleep for another four hours at least, she knows that she should really drag herself out of bed too.

"Tomorrow," she replies, then opens one eye and looks up at Alex and smiles a little to show she's joking.

"How about I go shower, and make some coffee, and then come wake you when it's ready?"

Piper closes her eye again and smiles a closed-lipped smile. "Mmmmyes please and thank you please."

Alex grins and resists the temptation to lean in and kiss Piper's sleepy smile. Instead she pulls the sheets up over her, and slips out of bed.

.

* * *

.

It's almost two before Piper joins Alex in the kitchen, fresh from her own shower and dressed in yesterday's clothes. She watches from the doorway as Alex pours coffee into two travel mugs.

"Going somewhere?" she asks by way of greeting, nodding her head towards the coffee.

"Yeah," Alex replies, glancing back at her over her shoulder as she pushes the lids onto the cups. "It's a beautiful day, I thought we might go for a walk."

"Oh-kayyyy…" Piper says, waiting for further explanation that doesn't come. She watches as Alex finishes up the coffee then pulls on a hooded sweater.

"You might need your coat," Alex offers. "It's bright, but there's a chill in the air."

Piper grabs her jacket from the back of the kitchen chair and slips it on. By the time she's done this, Alex has moved to the door and is clearly waiting to leave. She hands Piper a coffee as she passes, then follows her outside.

"The county park is just along here," Alex says as they take a left out of her driveway. "I'm really lucky to have this on my doorstep."

They take another left at the end of the street, then cross the railroad tracks and are immediately on the outskirts of the park. Alex cuts across the grass and Piper follows, Alex seems to know where she's going and after a few minutes they walk through a cluster of trees and are almost at the bank of Overpeck Creek.

"I come here sometimes and watch the rowers," Alex says, moving towards a bench overlooking the water. "They have some kind of club here, it's mesmerising watching them. They're so in sync with each other, so graceful, it's weirdly relaxing to watch them."

She sits on the end of the bench, and places her coffee and a brown paper bag next to her. Piper sits at the other end of the bench, and looks out over the water.

"This is a nice little spot," she agrees, "just being close to water is something I find relaxing. I haven't rowed since college, though."

Alex looks at her in surprise. "You're a rower?"

"_Ex_-rower," Piper replies with a small smile.

"Wow," Alex murmurs, looking out over the water. "There's a lot I don't know about you, huh?"

Piper shrugs one shoulder and takes a sip of her coffee. "I could say the same about you."

Alex nods her head slowly, seemingly lost in thought. They're silent for almost a minute, then Alex speaks up.

"I'm sorry about the tape," she blurts, jumping straight in with two feet.

Piper looks across at her, surprised at this starting point to the conversation she'd known was coming.

"I swear I thought you'd be alone when you opened it, or if not, at least you'd see what it was and stuff it back inside the envelope before anyone noticed. I really didn't mean for what happened… to happen."

"I think my face went as red as the tape."

"I can imagine. I'm so sorry." Alex shakes her head and casts her eyes downward. "It was a stupid idea."

"It wasn't that," Piper offers, "I mean, I wish I'd been able to contain my temper and not tear the damned thing open, but the idea itself wasn't stupid. It was an _unusual_ olive branch, I'll give you that…"

Alex smiles a little and glances across at Piper.

"...but after the initial horror had passed, I did smile about it."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I mean, it was clever. I knew you'd got it. What I'd said to P, I mean, about… you know. Needing to show some restraint, and needing to be…" Piper's voice trails off and when Alex looks at her again, she can see the faint tinge of pink colouring her cheeks and ears.

Alex smiles and looks out across the water. "Yeah," she murmurs. "I got that."

"I am sorry you know," Piper says after a few seconds of silence, her voice quiet. "About what I said. That night."

Alex nods her head gently, but doesn't look at her.

They lapse into silence again and Piper frowns, not knowing where to go from here.

"I was so scared," Alex admits after the silence stretches so long that Piper has begun to fear it would never end. Her voice is so quiet Piper has to strain to hear her. "I've never seen Dayanara like that before. She was almost hysterical."

Piper wasn't expecting this and her eyebrows draw together, but she remains silent.

"She's always so together, she has her ducks neatly in a row. Then that night…" Alex goes quiet again and shakes her head. "When I realised why she was so distraught, when I realised she'd seen us and… and I was the cause of that… it was _my_ decision that was the reason she was in such a state…"

Alex stops again and rubs her hand across the front of her neck, massaging her throat almost as if she's trying to get rid of a lump there.

"And then you confirmed it," Alex continues, huffing the words on a mirthless laugh, still not looking at Piper. "I'm heartsore because of the distress Daya's in, and you straight up came out and told me that not only had I made the wrong call, but also that by doing so I was the instigator of that distress. That it was my fault."

Piper genuinely doesn't know what to say, so she wisely chooses to remain silent.

"I was so angry," Alex continues after a few seconds. "I was angry at you for saying that, but more than that, I was angry at myself because…" she stops, and this time she doesn't continue.

Alex leans back against the bench. She lets out a heavy sigh, then takes a slug of coffee.

"I don't think it was the wrong call," Piper says softly after a few seconds of silence.

Alex nods her head but otherwise doesn't respond.

"I mean, I did at the time but I was… it was… _shocking_. I couldn't process it. It was like watching something on TV, but it was real and _you_ were in it and… I don't know. Then Daya started freaking out and you were both just doing your thing and all we could do was watch and it was… it was…"

"My job," Alex replies quietly.

Piper looks at her, but keeps quiet. Alex turns her head and meets Piper's eye. She shrugs, her posture conveying nothing but openness. "That's just it, Pipes. It's my job."

Piper holds Alex's gaze for a couple of seconds, then looks back at the water again. "I guess I prefer to think of traffic stops and bar fights," she admits. "Daya too, probably."

"And that's what it is, ninety per cent of the time. It's run of the mill low level stuff. But then there are occasions, not often but sometimes, where we get shot at, or where we have to front up and put ourselves in danger. Like that day."

Piper leans forward, her forearms resting on her thighs, holding her coffee cup in both hands.

"But we're never reckless, and we never do it if there's a safer alternative. And on that day, yes, the safer alternative may have been to wait for ESU to arrive, but if we'd done that, then that guy – David Marotta is his name – he'd be dead right now and I would have to live with the knowledge that I could've done something to save him, but didn't."

Piper nods her understanding, but remains silent.

"My _only_ regret about that day, my only one, is that you and Daya were there to see it."

"I'm sorry for saying you should've waited," Piper says, turning to look at Alex. "I know it was the right thing to do, it just took me a little while to get my head around that."

"It wasn't even that, Pipes. That isn't why I was angry. You can question my judgement all you like, I'm used to that, people who don't walk in my shoes do that all of the time and I'm used to it. It was Daya. I was angry at you for telling me I was the reason she was so upset, and I was angry at myself because you were right."

Alex's voice breaks on the last few words and she looks away, shaking her head.

Piper watches her, biting the inside of her lip to keep quiet.

"I'm still angry about that," Alex says after taking a few seconds to compose herself. "At myself, not you. You were right."

She turns to look at Piper, and catches sight of the brown paper bag between them on the bench. "Ah shit," she says, picking it up and peering inside it. "These were warm when we left, I totally forgot about them."

She hands the bag containing two now-cold Danish pastries to Piper. "Breakfast. Sorry."

Piper takes the bag and looks inside. "I'm still eating," she says. "Don't think less of me, 'kay?"

"Okay," Alex smiles. "Promise."

Piper eats in silence and Alex drinks her coffee, both alone with their thoughts.

"Heartsore," Piper says as she balls up the empty paper bag and stuffs it into the pocket of her coat a couple of minutes later.

"Huh?"

"You said you were heartsore about Daya's distress. That's a beautiful and a powerful word."

"I guess," Alex says with a shrug.

"I feel like there's something missing from this story."

Alex looks at Piper, then back at the water again, turning her head slowly.

"You and Washington have a special bond, I understand that. But you're _heartsore_ about your partner's girlfriend? I don't know. I feel like I'm missing something here."

Alex's lips twitch into the start of a smile, but she doesn't say anything.

"What? What am I not seeing?"

Alex shakes her head and smiles a little more. "You don't miss much, do you Chapman."

Piper's smile is wide as she turns on the bench to face Alex. "I knew there was more to this!"

Alex chuckles quietly. "This is _not_ the conversation I thought we might be having today. I'm all ready to talk about what page I'm on and what it is we're doing here, and you're drilling down on my history with your partner."

"Wait, you have history? Like, _history_ history?"

Alex smiles and looks away. "Not like that. Filthy."

She pauses, wondering where to even start this story. "Okay," she says after a moment and a deep breath, "how many people do you love, Piper?"

"Uh, what?"

"Think about it. It's a serious question. How many people do you truly love? How many people in your life are so important to you that if they were no longer here, you'd never fill that hole in your life?"

Piper frowns, but considers this. She mentally runs through her family and friends, counting siblings and discounting cousins, adding and subtracting friends and acquaintances, remembering her new niece at the last possible moment before coming up with a number. "Twelve," she announces. "No, thirteen!"

Alex nods her head. "Thirteen. That's a healthy number."

"Can I count pets?"

"Umm, not really. People only."

"Okay then eleven."

Alex grins. "Eleven is still good."

Piper smiles, happy she seems to have answered this question correctly.

"I can count mine on the fingers of one hand," Alex says. "And Daya is top three."

Alex watches Piper's wide smile slowly disappear, replaced by a look of confusion and surprise.

"Daya is top three? My partner Daya?"

"Your partner Daya, yes," Alex confirms, smiling a little. "She's never told you this?"

"Told me what?"

"About us?"

"Oh my God, Alex. You're killing me here!"

"Okay," Alex smiles. "So me and Daya go way back. I've known her six, almost seven years. Longer than I've known P, even. In fact, I introduced them to each other."

Piper frowns and shakes her head at Alex, her whole understanding of the relationships between the three women being totally turned upside down in an instant.

"You assumed I became friends with P at work and she introduced me to her girlfriend, didn't you." Alex says, smiling.

"I… yeah. Yeah I did."

"Nope. That's not how it all began. Okay, so…"

Over the next thirty minutes, sitting on that bench in Overpeck County Park overlooking the water, Alex tells Piper all about her mom. She tells her about the cancer that crept into her lungs from thirty-some years of smoking, then spread instead of responding to treatment. She tells her about her becoming sicker and sicker over the course of just a few months, and she tells her about the CNA who dedicated countless hours to caring for her whilst Alex was in the Academy. The CNA who was studying for her EMT-B, but working in the hospice to pay her way through school, and the CNA who, as the end was approaching, helped Alex to take her mom home and cared for her there with selfless devotion right up until the moment she passed.

"She treated her with kindness, and dignity, and respect. She showed my mom such love, and I've loved her ever since," Alex finishes.

Piper, who has remained quiet throughout, wipes her eyes with her fingertips and sniffs quietly.

"Now I know why she lost her mind when Poussey told her you were smoking a couple of nights ago."

Alex shrugs her shoulders and doesn't reply.

"She was frantic. She wanted to come straight over to wherever you were, but P wouldn't tell her. She even called a friend of hers, Lou? I think it was Lou. Works in your Dispatch? She got this friend to shout you up over the radio to find out where you were."

Alex remembers the call asking for their 10-7 and shakes her head with a small smile. "Devious."

"She was all for coming over, but then we got sent to a car wreck on Broadway and then P texted her and she calmed a little then. I _thought_ it was weird! I mean, I didn't know you smoked, but her reaction seemed massively over the top."

"I don't smoke," Alex replies. "At least, I try not to. Not since, you know, my mom. Sometimes though… I don't know, it's a familiar crutch. And self-destructive. I punish myself by smoking, I guess. Does that sound stupid?"

"No," Piper admits. "It doesn't sound stupid at all."

They lapse into silence again, Piper digesting all of the new knowledge she's just been given.

"So yeah," Alex says after a few moments, "the very last person I would want to upset, the last person I would want to cause such distress to, is Daya. She's top three, and as you so clearly pointed out to me that night, she was so upset because I didn't wait for ESU."

"That's not quite true," Piper says. "She was upset - we were both upset - because we _saw_ it. But you weren't to know that, and I was too caught up in it all to think it through. I said what I thought was right at the time, but I was wrong and I'm sorry about that. I let my emotions speak instead of my brain."

"I think we're both a little guilty of doing that," Alex admits with a soft smile. She reaches her arm out along the back of the bench and takes hold of Piper's sleeve, tugging the fabric of her coat gently. "I'm sorry for shutting you out," Alex says, her gaze on the sleeve. "I was angry and I was upset and I reacted by withdrawing and blocking out what I thought was the cause of that." She pauses and looks up at Piper before continuing. "But I was wrong, and I'm sorry about that too. I should know better, I'll try to be better."

"And I'll try not to drive quite so fast to jobs in future, so you can do your hero cop thing without me and Daya having to witness it," Piper smiles. "That'd work, right? Denial doesn't always have to be a bad thing?"

"Traffic stops and bar fights, babe. That's all we do." Alex grins.

"Did you just call me _babe_?"

"Fuck I hope not."

"I think you might've done, you know."

"Nah, you misheard."

Before Piper can reply, Alex's stomach rumbles loudly and they both look at it wide-eyed.

"I didn't mishear that!" Piper laughs. "Jesus, Al, that was ridiculous."

"Well _some_body ate my Danish!"

Piper's hand covers her mouth and she looks at Alex quickly. "Oh my God. It was one each!"

"Apparently not," Alex replies, rolling her eyes. "First it was bedsheets, now it's my breakfast, where's it gonna end, Chapman? Huh?"

"Petit Larceny, all class A misdemeanours," Piper replies without missing a beat. "You're halfway through a class B felony for Grand Larceny, so you're hardly one to talk!"

"Wait, I'm… what?"

Alex stays seated as Piper stands and straightens her coat, preparing to leave.

"What am I stealing that's worth that much?" Alex asks, perplexed.

"My heart, doofus," Piper replies with a wink, then confidently strides away.


	18. Chapter 18

"Well _some_body ate my Danish!"

Piper's hand covers her mouth and she looks at Alex quickly. "Oh my God. It was one each!"

"Apparently not," Alex replies, rolling her eyes. "First it was bedsheets, now it's my breakfast, where's it gonna end, Chapman? Huh?"

"Petit Larceny, all class A misdemeanours," Piper replies without missing a beat. "You're halfway through a class B felony for Grand Larceny, so you're hardly one to talk!"

"Wait, I'm… what?"

Alex stays seated as Piper stands and straightens her coat, preparing to leave.

"What am I stealing that's worth that much?" Alex asks, perplexed.

"My heart, doofus," Piper replies with a wink, then confidently strides away.

.

* * *

.

It takes a couple of seconds for the penny to drop, then Alex grins and scrambles to her feet. She snatches up her coffee cup and jogs to catch up with Piper.

"That was cheesy," she smiles, slinging an arm around Piper's shoulder.

"You would know," Piper relies, "you have a pretty decent line in cheese yourself when the mood takes you."

Alex can't argue with this, so remains silent. They walk without speaking for another couple of minutes, heading back towards the house.

It's Piper who eventually breaks the silence. "Thanks for telling me about your mom."

Alex just nods her head.

"I'd worked out she was no longer around from something Nicky said that day when... yeah. So anyway. Thank you. So many little things make sense now about Daya too."

"Like what?"

"Oh I don't know. Silly things. Poussey is always saying things to Daya about how she loves you more, stuff like that."

"Not more," Alex smiles, "just for longer."

Alex pulls her keys out of the pocket of her jeans as they turn into the driveway. "P just likes to give us both shit about it, she's just a little-"

Alex stops walking and stops mid-sentence as they round the corner of the house and see a figure standing on the porch, thumping on the back door with a closed fist.

"Shit," she mutters under her breath, then speaks louder. "Hey Sylvie. There's nobody home."

Piper stiffens beside her, but Alex keeps her arm firmly in place around her shoulders as the woman on the porch turns toward's Alex's voice. She hesitates only briefly when she sees Alex isn't alone, then saunters to the edge of the porch and leans on the rail looking down at them both.

"Well well," she begins quietly. "What do we have here?"

Sylvia makes absolutely no attempt to disguise the once-over she gives Piper with her eyes, then looks at Alex and raises an eyebrow.

"Damn, girl. Your standards are slipping. Since when are you into bottle-blondes, lover?"

Alex hears Piper's intake of breath and tightens her arm around her shoulders, willing her not to bite.

"What're you doing here?" she asks, looking up at Sylvie. "Something you need?"

Sylvie smirks and looks directly at Alex. "Well this would be the place I'd come, right? You know you've always been the one to satisfy my needs, Allie."

Piper actually can't contain the short burst of laughter that escapes her. She turns towards Alex and grins as she reaches for the keys in her hand.

"Okay, let me just take these and I'll get my stuff and be outta your hair in just two ticks. _Allie_."

Alex moves her hand away, moving the keys out of Piper's reach. "What? No!"

"I don't want any part of this, Al," she says a little quieter. "Give me your keys please."

Alex looks back at Sylvie leaning again the rail of her porch, then moves slightly so she's standing in front of Piper, positioning herself between the two women. "You need to leave, Sylvia. Right now. I don't even know what you're doing here. So go. Please, just leave."

Before Sylvie can reply, Alex turns and faces Piper. She takes hold of her wrist and raises her hand, placing her house keys in Piper's open palm. She looks her in the eye and speaks very quietly. "I'm giving you these because you asked me for them, and I don't want to prevent you from doing what you want to do. But I've always told you the truth about her, and I don't want you to leave, Pipes. Please."

Piper's fingers close around the keys and she takes a step back and away from Alex, before walking towards the back door of the house and letting herself in. Alex watches her every step of the way and only looks back at Sylvie when the door swings closed behind Piper.

"I'm not kidding, Sylvie. You need to go."

"Just like that?"

"Just like that," Alex confirms. "We're done here."

"We're never done," Sylvie laughs and Alex takes a step closer.

"We're done now. Leave."

Sylvia looks down at Alex from her elevated position on the porch, then slowly turns and looks towards the back door of the house before turning back to Alex.

"For that scrawny blonde thing? Are you actually serious?"

Alex chooses to remain quiet.

"She doesn't even have any tits!" Sylvie laughs haughtily.

Alex presses her lips together and turns her head away, looking down her driveway toward the road. A muscle is flexing in her jaw, but she's determined not to rise to the bait that Sylvia is dangling.

"We're never done, Allie, you know that." Sylvie's voice is suddenly softer now, sweeter, almost wheedling, and Alex can't stand it.

"We were done two years ago, Sylvie, and you've been holding me back ever since. It stops now. I'm done with this."

"Holding you back? I haven't been _holding_ you back, you've come _crawling_ back to me every chance you've had."

"Is that right?" Alex asks, lifting her chin.

"That's right."

"And how about today? Who's crawling where today, Sylvie? Because you and I both know that I haven't replied to any of your _multiple_ messages or calls for the past three weeks, and correct me if I'm wrong here, but you seem to be the person standing on _my_ porch right now. Uninvited."

Alex backs away and walks around the deck to the steps. She glances at the back door of her house as she climbs the steps and is relieved to see no sign of Piper about to leave.

"So I'm asking you nicely one last time. Please leave, Sylvie. You're not welcome here."

Sylvie adjusts the shoulder strap on her bag, hitching it higher as she struggles to find a cutting response.

"You'll be back," she eventually mutters. "When this comes crashing down around you, you'll come crawling back to me. Nobody knows you like I do, Alex. Nobody will put up with your bullshit like I do."

"Did you ever stop and think you might be the _reason_ behind my supposed bullshit? That you might be the cause of it, rather than the cure? Everything was always a drama with you, we just lurched from one crisis to the next, nothing was ever simple. I want simple."

"Well you certainly seem to have that," Sylvie replies, casting a withering glance towards the house.

"You have no idea what I have, Sylvie," Alex responds, her voice soft and quiet. "You genuinely have no clue."

"I know you have a fear of commitment," Sylvie bites, trying to get under Alex's skin. "A fear of letting anyone too close, in case they leave you."

Alex shakes her head but doesn't reply.

"Like your mother."

"Leave, Sylvie."

"You can't hold down a relationship, because you don't know what it means to love. That's your problem."

"No, Sylv, that's _your_ problem," Alex says, keeping her voice soft and taking a step closer. "It's not that I don't know how to love, it's that I don't love _you_. I don't have a fear of commitment, I just don't want to commit to _you_. It's not that I'm scared of people leaving me, just the opposite. Right now, all I want in the world is for you to do just that."

Alex takes another small step closer, moving right into Sylvia's personal space, and lowers her voice even more. "The simple scrawny bottle-blonde with no tits? She's everything you're not. I'll be sure to send you an invitation to the wedding."

Alex turns and walks away. She looks back over her shoulder as she reaches the door, calls out a simple "Bye, Sylvia," and locks the door behind her as she enters the house.

She stands still for several long seconds, her back against the door, eyes closed, breathing deeply. She's managed to conduct the whole interaction with her ex-girlfriend without once raising her voice, but her heart is pounding and she's flushed with adrenaline. When she hears Sylvie's feet thudding down the steps from the porch, she pushes off the door and goes in search of Piper.

She finds her in the lounge room, sitting in the armchair, looking across the room and out of the front window. Alex pauses in the doorway for a couple of seconds, then moves into the room. She sits on the edge of the coffee table in front of Piper, and looks at her without speaking until Piper shifts her gaze and their eyes meet.

"Thank you for not leaving," Alex murmurs, "I didn't want you to go."

Piper nods her head once and then looks out of the window again. "She definitely isn't abstract now."

Alex sighs softly and lets her head drop forward. "She never was, Pipes," she says softly, then raises her head and looks at her again. "But she's gone now. Please just let her leave, don't keep her around."

Piper looks at Alex again and seems to consider this. Deep down, she knows Alex is right. Sylvie has quite literally left the building, and the only way she's still around is because Piper still has her at the forefront of her mind. Still, she can't quite let her go.

"She's not what I expected," Piper says, quietly.

Alex studies her for a moment, then mentally squares her shoulders and braces herself for the conversation she knows she's about to commit to.

"Okay," Alex says, sitting up straight and rubbing the palms of her hands on her thighs. "Shoot."

Piper raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Shoot. Ask me. Ask me whatever you want and I'll answer you honestly. Let's get this done, because I don't want her in this house, Piper."

Piper hesitates for a moment, so Alex speaks again. "She's not what you expected. So what did you expect?"

"I don't know," Piper admits, "somebody… taller, for sure."

"She's five six."

"And more, I don't know, glamorous maybe."

"She dresses up for work, and down on her days off. Next."

Piper frowns a little at Alex's abruptness, but asks her next question. "Where did you meet?"

"In a bar in Brooklyn, after a rough shift. I went over there to meet Nic, met Sylvia instead, left the bar before Nic arrived."

"With her."

"With her. Yes."

Piper nods her head and looks away, worrying her bottom lip with her teeth.

"It was about four years ago, give or take. It was sometimes good, but it was never great. We split up two years ago."

Piper still doesn't speak, she bows her head and seems interested in a stray thread coming loose from the seam of her jeans.

"It ended because it was going nowhere, and because I didn't care about her. I didn't love her. I didn't trust her either," Alex admits with a small huff. "Pretty sure she was fucking someone else throughout the whole time we were together."

Piper's forehead creases, but she doesn't respond.

"Since then," Alex continues a little quieter, "we've been hooking up occasionally. I'm almost certain _I'm_ now the person she fucks on the side, rather than the one being cheated _on_. Somebody should fucking call Alanis."

"Why?" Piper asks, looking up at Alex.

"Because of the song? She did that song, _Ironic_, and-"

"I know the song, Alex, Jesus," Piper cuts her off, a note of exasperation clear. "I meant why do you keep hooking up?"

"Oh!" Alex pauses and takes a deep breath, considering her response. "Because it's easy, I guess. And familiar."

"But not good."

"No."

"And never great."

Alex shakes her head. It's her turn to now avoid eye contact and she studies a scuff on the toe of her boot for a moment before speaking again.

"Sometimes, this job, it…" she sighs and shakes her head. "It's tough sometimes. Some days, or nights, I would finish work and I…" she trails off and frowns, not sure how to explain what she's thinking.

"It's hard some days, going home to an empty house," Piper says softly and Alex looks up at her quickly. "Some days, you just want that human contact. Someone to lose yourself in. Someone to help you forget."

"Yes," Alex breathes. "Exactly that."

"Even if it isn't good."

"Yeah."

"Or good for _you_."

Alex looks away again and shakes her head. "P hates her. Really fuckin' hates her. But P goes home to Daya, you know?"

"I know," Piper says.

They lapse into silence and half a minute passes before Alex speaks again. "I've been using her, and I'm not proud about that, but it's a two way street. She didn't just turn up here at four o'clock on a Monday afternoon for a cup of tea and some polite conversation, you know?"

"I know," Piper says again. "You don't have to sound so defensive, Al. I get it."

Silence descends again and Alex returns to studying her boot.

"I didn't know she was coming over," Alex mumbles. "She wasn't invited."

"I know," Piper murmurs.

"I haven't seen her in… weeks." She looks up and directly at Piper. "The last time I saw her was…" Alex pauses and thinks about this properly, then continues, "actually, it was two days before I met you for the first time."

"Really?"

Alex smiles a little. "Really."

"And was that… deliberate?" Piper asks, uncertain and curious at the same time.

"Not initially," Alex admits honestly. She hesitates, unsure how open she should be here, how much of herself to reveal, then commits. "But I didn't seek her out when Mikey died, Pipes, and I didn't want her at his funeral with me either. Everything from that point on has been deliberate."

"Like not eating jalapeños." Piper says and Alex smiles.

"Exactly like that."

They fall quiet again and Piper's gaze drifts back to the window. "Do you think she'll come back?"

"You mean today, or ever?"

Piper frowns briefly. "Both."

"No."

Piper looks back at Alex, surprised and a little sceptical.

"I told her I'd send her an invitation to the wedding." Alex shrugs.

"What wedding?"

"Ours."

Piper's mouth actually falls open and Alex grins, then reaches out and places a finger under her chin and lifts gently.

"I have to be honest, Piper, she caught onto that way quicker than you did, babe."

"You _definitely_ called me 'babe' that time."

Alex laughs quietly. "Busted."

"Also, that has to be the worst proposal I've ever heard."

Alex smiles then pushes her glasses up into her hair. She reaches out and takes hold of Piper's left hand and rubs her thumb along the length of her third finger, then looks up into her perfectly blue eyes. "Okay, so I know you know that wasn't a proposal," she starts, and Piper smiles her confirmation, "but I hope it does show you, maybe just a little bit, what page I'm on."

Before Piper can respond, Alex shuffles to the edge of the table she's perched on and leans forward slightly. Her expression is earnest as she continues. "We haven't talked about this, and last night showed me that maybe we should've. Because I know exactly what page I'm on, Piper, and it upset me last night when I realised I hadn't made that clear to you."

"I wasn't trying to upset you, I-"

"I know," Alex interrupts, "I know you weren't. It's okay. It's my fault. For once I should've actually listened to Nicky and _locked this shit down_, as she so delicately put it."

"Oh you don't want to be taking advice from her," Piper replies with a smile, "I've already told her that I'm only using you for sex."

Alex laughs out loud and Piper smiles at her reaction. She reaches out and places a hand against Alex's cheek, then brushes her thumb over her cheekbone. Alex tilts her head slightly, leaning it into Piper's hand.

"I'm not just using you for sex," Piper says softly, with a gentle smile. "I think you know that."

"I mean, I wouldn't blame you," Alex says. "It's pretty good sex."

Piper grins. "Meh, it's okay."

The two women smile, and Alex brings her hand up to curl around Piper's wrist. She turns her head, and presses her lips against Piper's palm, then looks back at her.

"It's more than just sex, Pipes," she murmurs, "it's so much more."

"I know," Piper breathes, then leans closer and rests her forehead against Alex's. "I want all of it, Al, and I only want it from you."

Alex allows her eyes to close and she's sure she feels her heart swell in her chest at Piper's words. For just a moment, she feels overwhelmed with emotion, relief and joy washing over her in equal measure.

"We gonna do this?" Alex asks, opening her eyes and pulling back just a little to look at Piper properly.

"This?"

"Me and you?"

Piper's smile is soft and she leans her head to the side slightly, studying Alex, seeing the last traces of uncertainty hiding in her eyes.

"Alex," she murmurs, leaning in to place a gentle kiss on her lips then withdrawing again, "will you be my girlfriend?"

Alex's smile is wide as she shifts forward from the table and pushes Piper backwards into the armchair. She kisses her soundly, her knee on the edge of the seat cushion, leaning over Piper as she is pressed into the chair. "Fuck yes I will," Alex replies, her voice so low it's almost a growl. She kisses her again, and again, and stops only when all the breath is torn from her lungs at once as Piper's hands move from her hips to cover her breasts.

Piper bites the edge of her bottom lip and raises one eyebrow, looking up at Alex as she pulls back from the kiss.

Alex tries to speak but finds her throat doesn't work, and as Piper's hands palm her breasts through the thin cotton of her t-shirt before squeezing firmly, she finds her brain has lost its ability to form words anyway.


End file.
